At today’s press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Ambassador of France to Turkmenistan Philippe Merlin delivered remarks expressing strong support for the European Union’s engagement with Turkmenistan and outlining France’s active role within the Team Europe framework.
Ambassador Merlin began by thanking EU Ambassador Beata Pęksa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mahri Bashimova, emphasizing the close collaboration between France and the EU Delegation in Ashgabat. “We are completely involved as France, the EU is France and France is the EU,” he stated, praising the EU Ambassador and her team for their “remarkable” and “very active” work.
He highlighted France’s full participation in the Team Europe initiative. In 2025, a cultural event financed by the EU’s EUNIC instrument — a contemporary dance show titled “Rituals” — achieved major success in Turkmenistan. France is ready to assist in replicating similar initiatives to promote Turkmen culture abroad, including in France.
Turning to 2026, Ambassador Merlin identified the upcoming EU-Turkmenistan Business Forum as the most important event of the year in Turkmenistan. He stressed the need for success in its B2B (business-to-business) and B2G (business-to-government) components, as these are the primary reasons European companies will travel to engage in pragmatic negotiations on projects with private firms, the public sector, and the government.
He noted that positive news on progress in Turkmenistan’s WTO accession. “It would also be useful because we know that European traders, investors are very keen to get the legal stability that results from a country being a member of the WTO. Also, this including with the program that ITC is implementing on EU financing for assisting Turkmenistan in this accession process”, he said.
The ambassador expressed hope that Turkmenistan would fully benefit from the EU’s Global Gateway. “The EU will make available a lot of resources and for Turkmenistan to occupy the proper place in the Caspian transport corridor and other project, Global Gateway also for digital connectivity is a very important tool”, he stressed.
On education, France is particularly keen to see the Erasmus+ program fully operational in Turkmenistan. “We need that to implement cooperation between universities. We need that to have student and professor mobility in both ways between France and other EU countries and Turkmenistan,” Ambassador Merlin said, describing Erasmus+ — launched by the EU 20 years ago — as an “absolutely essential” tool that should also function in Turkmenistan.
Finally, he commended Turkmenistan’s diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan. “I am very impressed by the kind of diplomacy that Turkmenistan is deploying towards Afghanistan, which is not a very easy neighbor. I am sure that it will develop as a very important subject for political dialogue between the EU and Turkmenistan and one of many aspects is the human rights in Afghanistan, including of course women and girls rights, but also the economy, jobs and projects, of course terrorism, narcotics and other issues that stem from this country”, he said.
In conclusion, Ambassador Merlin thanked EU Ambassador Beata Pęksa, her team, and the Turkmen side for the “extremely impressive development” in EU-Turkmenistan relations over the past 2-3 years.
“I think we are on a very good track,” he said, expressing confidence that Turkmenistan recognizes the current global situation and “see in the EU a partner that it can trust and that also always has very positive feelings and extent.” ///nCa, 17 February 2026