President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has underscored the strong fraternal bonds between Türkiye and Turkmenistan, emphasizing shared history, culture, and economic potential during his recent visit to Ashgabat for the International Forum on Peace and Trust.
Speaking to journalists on his return flight to Türkiye, President Erdoğan expressed gratitude to the National Leader of the Turkmen people and Chairman of the People’s Council, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, as well as President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. He highlighted his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations, noting his previous visit three years ago and the deep ties rooted in common language, religion, history, and culture.
Erdoğan praised Turkmenistan’s successful maintenance of its neutrality for three decades, describing it as a “philosophy of peace.” He recalled Türkiye’s early recognition of Turkmenistan’s independence and its advocacy for the country’s permanent neutrality status at the UN. “We continue to support Turkmenistan’s neutrality-based peacebuilding vision,” he stated.
On the economic front, the Turkish leader pointed to robust cooperation, revealing that Turkish companies have undertaken projects worth approximately $55 billion in Turkmenistan since its independence, with ongoing 19 projects valued at around $10 billion. This positions Turkmenistan as the second-largest market for Turkish contractors abroad, after Russia.
Bilateral trade exceeded $2 billion in 2024, and Erdoğan expressed ambition to elevate this to $5 billion, aligning with repeated joint declarations from both nations.
Erdoğan also emphasized the human dimension of the relationship: “We are delighted that our Turkmen brothers and sisters select Türkiye as their first choice for university study. We are pleased that these young people are contributing to the growth of their country by returning to Turkmenistan after completing their education.”///nCa, 16 December 2025