On 8 October, a meeting of the Kazakh-Turkmen Business Council was held in Ashgabat. The meeting brought together representatives of the business circles of both countries. The sides discussed new initiatives and projects in sectors such as energy, transport, logistics and agriculture, the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan reports.
The Co-chairman of the Kazakhstan’s part of the Business Council, Aidar Kazybayev, and the co-chairman of the Turkmen part, Begench Arazov, welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of deepening the bilateral dialogue.
“The priority area of our work is the simplification of mutual trade. That is, through government agencies, we must create the most comfortable conditions for promoting the export and import of goods. To do this, it is necessary to receive feedback from participants in foreign trade on what barriers they have to face most often,” Aidar Kazybayev said.
According to Kazybayev, the promotion and protection of investments is another important issue. Since Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have more than 50 joint projects, which is an insufficient indicator today. However, the speaker sees this as a growth point for further cooperation.
In his speech, Acting Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan Asan Zhakishev noted the importance of strengthening economic ties with Turkmenistan. He stressed that despite a 35.7% decrease in Kazakh exports in January-August 2024, bilateral trade relations continue to develop, and imports of Turkmen goods to Kazakhstan show significant growth.
He expressed the hope that the interaction of the business circles of the two countries will bring cooperation to a qualitatively new level.
“We see great potential for further expansion of cooperation in such areas as energy, transport, agriculture and logistics. Trade and economic cooperation between our countries is characterized by significant changes both in the volume of mutual trade and in the structure of exports and imports,” the representative of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan added.
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan, Nurlan Nogaev, also spoke at the meeting. He noted that the Embassy of Kazakhstan provides comprehensive support to entrepreneurs of both countries. In his speech, he stressed the strategic importance of the upcoming visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Turkmenistan, which will be an important milestone in further strengthening bilateral relations.
At the end of the meeting, the co-chairman of the Turkmen side, Begench Arazov, stressed that the meeting of the Kazakh-Turkmen Business Council confirmed the general mood for deepening bilateral economic cooperation.
“Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have always been reliable partners, and I am confident that thanks to new initiatives and active dialogue between our business communities, we will be able to open new horizons for mutually beneficial development. Our countries have huge potential, and now our task is to use it to create joint projects that will bring real benefits to the economies and peoples of both countries,” the speaker concluded.
Following the meeting, the parties exchanged plans to organize trade missions by the end of this year. In addition, the participants agreed to further discuss joint initiatives aimed at developing the agricultural sector and strengthening mutual trade relations. ///nCa, 10 October 2024