When Berdymuhamedov Visits New York

nCa Commentary by Tariq Saeedi

Ashgabat, 19 September 2007 (nCa) --- President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov of Turkmenistan will soon travel to New York for the UN General Assembly session. He will also have some important meetings on the sidelines.

This will be a good chance for the US government to do some repair to its tattered image in the Central Asian region.

In order to put together the correct attitude, leading to fruitful interaction with Turkmenistan, the USA would need to keep three basic facts in mind:

1. Turkmenistan is fully conscious, and proud, of its sovereignty
2. Turkmenistan is a permanently neutral state, with constitutional pledge to use its political, economic, natural and cultural resources for the benefit of the entire mankind without any fear or favour
3. Turkmenistan has ample hydrocarbon resources to honour all of its export commitments in any direction; any attempts to play zero-sum games would be counterproductive

While in New York, Berdymuhamedov is likely to meet some top officials from the Bush administration.

The outcome of the meeting would depend to a great extent on the attitude of the Bush administration.

For starters, it is important to understand that meeting with a top US official is not a reward and denial of a meeting is not a punishment for Turkmenistan. As the things stand today, Turkmenistan is above and beyond these petty games that are remnant of colonial times.

Moreover, equality and mutual respect are the only channels through which it is possible to communicate with Turkmenistan.

The people who come to meet Berdymuhamedov in New York would also need to remember that there is nothing that Turkmenistan needs desperately from the United States.

Consider this:

• There is a long queue of investors who are eager to bring their money, know-how and technology to Turkmenistan on the terms that Turkmenistan offers at present.
  

• Whatever investment Turkmenistan needs is easily available from Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India and other countries who feel comfortable dealing with Turkmenistan.
  

• Whatever technology and equipment Turkmenistan may need is available in the open market and Turkmenistan has the capacity to pay the price in hard cash.
  

• Contrary to what some lobbyists tend to believe, Turkmenistan is in no need of cleansing its image. Considering the number of countries that are trying to promote close relations with Turkmenistan, it is quite obvious that Turkmenistan is a very desirable friend in the world community.

It is more than likely that some international oil companies based in the United States would use the opportunity to present their proposals. This is good in itself – Turkmenistan is always willing to consider possibilities of mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of equality. However, the US government should avoid putting its weight behind such proposals because every business venture must stand on its own legs of commercial viability.

The entire Central Asian region would be watching carefully as to how the US government treats Berdymuhamedov in New York. The attitude shown by the Bush administration during this visit would determine the direction of short to medium-term relations between the United States and this region.

It depends completely on the Bush administration whether it is interested in salvaging some of its lost reputation in this part of the world.