Turkmenistan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations today. The two countries set up diplomatic relations on January 23, 1992.
The Embassy of Turkmenistan in the UK (London) opened in 1995. Since June 2003, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to the UK Yazmurat Seryaev has been heading the diplomatic mission.
The British Embassy in Ashgabat has been also operating since 1995. Prior to the opening of the Embassy in Turkmenistan, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Russia Brian Fall acted as the head of the diplomatic mission on part-time time basis.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Turkmenistan Lucia Wild has been heading the diplomatic mission since January this year.
Members of the royal family visited Turkmenistan. In 1996, Charles, Prince of Wales did it, having visited Mary and Ancient Merv. And in November 2013, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who arrived in Ashgabat to participate in the International Exhibition and Conference ‘International Cooperation in the Oil and Gas Industry of Turkmenistan: potential, achievements, priorities’.
The two countries have common interests in key areas of cooperation - politics, economy, energy and investment. The UK has one of the leading positions in the production of electrical equipment, in the field of electronics, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, finance and many other sectors of economy. Being a major exporter of high technologies, goods and capital, the UK, in turn, shows interest in importing chemical products, energy resources, textile and light industry products, initiates cooperation in large-scale projects as an investor as well as a direct participant.
British investments are mainly in the oil and gas sector in Turkmenistan. Burren Energy, which operates in the western part of the country, has a prominent position here. Turkmenistan actively involves the British company Gaffney, Cline & Associates for an independent audit of oil and gas resources, including on the area of the Galkynysh supergiant field.
Education and science are also important areas of Turkmen-British cooperation. The UK is implementing a number of programs in this area, including the successful Chevening scholarship program, which has allowed dozens of young Turkmens to get higher education and continue their studies at leading universities in the UK.
