On November 9, 2023, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov made a working visit to Uzbekistan to participate in the 16th Summit of Heads of State of the Economic Cooperation Organization.
During the summit meeting, the head of the Turkmen state made a number of initiatives that reflected the active role of Turkmenistan in regional economic integration. Particular attention was paid to developing energy cooperation and expanding trade.
In general, the 16th ECO summit demonstrated the interest of the participating countries in developing economic cooperation. Practical steps in this direction will contribute to the further socio-economic development of the states of the region.
Initiatives of the President of Turkmenistan, announced at the 16th ECO Summit
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov announced Turkmenistan’s readiness to increase the volume of supplies of natural gas and electricity to the ECO countries through currently available facilities, as well as through those that will be built in the future.
Turkmenistan's partner countries were invited to expand joint cooperation in the energy sector with the aim of creating an energy supply system that includes the ECO space.
The head of the Turkmen state proposed creating an “Information Portal” that would include specific information, ideas, business projects and other information necessary for wider awareness of the potential and intentions of the ECO member countries in terms of expanding multilateral cooperation.
The President of Turkmenistan called for actively using the opportunities of cross-border and regional trade in the ECO to increase trade turnover. To this end, it was proposed to create a favorable transboundary environment and stimulate regional cooperation, representing a system of contractual advantages and priorities.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov also proposed considering the issue of creating Joint Transport and Logistics Centers in the ECO region with the participation of relevant government agencies and private companies.
The head of Turkmen state named the issue of establishing multimodal cargo transportation from China through Central Asia with access to the ports of the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea as one of the priority areas for discussion within the ECO.
Meeting with the President of Uzbekistan
At the Congress Center of the International Business Center Tashkent city, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov held negotiations with the head of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev with the participation of members of government delegations. The heads of state exchanged views on key aspects of the interstate dialogue, taking into account emerging opportunities and joint priority plans for the future.
16th ECO Summit – who participated and main topics
The next Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization was held with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the head of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the leader of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, the head of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, and the leader of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kazakhstan was represented at the forum by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Pakistan by Acting Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar. The ECO Secretary General Khusraw Noziri also took part in the Summit.
At the Summit, they discussed the prospects for further deepening trade, economic, investment, transport, communications and humanitarian ties between the participating countries within the ECO.
Proposals were made to develop instruments for the development of regional trade, in particular the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) and a trade facilitation strategy to increase the volume of trade between the member countries of the organization.
Information – Turkmenistan and the ECO
Turkmenistan has been a member of the Economic Cooperation Organization since 1992. In 2021, Turkmenistan chaired the ECO. During this period, the country developed a special Concept of the organization and identified its key tasks aimed at overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the results of the 15th ECO Summit in Ashgabat, the “Ashgabat Consensus for Action” was adopted, in which the areas of trade, transport, communications, energy, as well as social development, climate change, etc. were identified as the main areas of interaction between the participating countries.
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