In the regular weekly business digest of Turkmenportal, read about the main economic news of Turkmenistan - from a discussion of the possibilities of supplying Turkmen gas to Türkiye to a significant increase in passenger and cargo transportation.

Briefly about the main thing:

• Turkmenistan discussed gas supplies to Türkiye through Iran, and also outlined its position regarding the development of energy cooperation in the Caspian region;
• The country's economy is showing growth: GDP is increasing, production and trade turnover are growing;
• Turkmenistan intensifies trade and economic interaction with Türkiye, the USA and Austria;
• The country is increasing freight and passenger transportation air transportation, modernizes transport infrastructure.

Fuel and Energy Complex

Turkmenistan and Türkiye discussed the possibility of supplying Turkmen natural gas to the Turkish market through Iran. At the 7th meeting of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Turkish Commission on Economic Cooperation, the parties noted the high prospects of this project and agreed to begin negotiations in the near future at the level of heads of relevant departments and companies.

Energy cooperation in the Caspian Sea is the most important and fundamental issue, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Caspian countries in Moscow. He emphasized that Turkmenistan proceeds from the fact that the construction of underwater infrastructure in the Caspian Sea meets the economic needs of all five coastal states.

Finance

Turkmenistan's GDP growth for 11 months of 2023 amounted to 6,3%. In January-November, production in the country as a whole increased by 6,6%. The volume of retail turnover increased by 9,9%.

Business events

On December 6-8, an exhibition of Turkish export goods was held in the capital of Turkmenistan, at which more than 100 Turkish companies were represented.

The 10th Turkmen-American business forum was held in Ashgabat. It was attended by executives and representatives of well-known companies, including Visa, Palo Alto Networks, Honeywell, John Deere, etc. Among the priority areas of partnership during the forum were the energy sector, transport and communications, agro-industrial complex, and high technology.

A meeting of Turkmen entrepreneurs with representatives of Austrian companies was held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan. The parties discussed prospects and current areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Transport and cargo transportation

The State Customs Service of Turkmenistan has installed information kiosks at the country’s customs posts that introduce the rules for customs clearance of goods. They are interactive information terminals where information on the amounts of customs duties, fees and other customs procedures is available in Turkmen, Russian, English and Turkish.

Agency “Turkmenhowayollary” for January-November 2023 almost doubled the number of passenger and cargo transportation compared to the same period last year. The increase was 99%. Along with air transportation, other sectors also showed positive dynamics: cargo transportation grew by 3,9%, passenger transportation - by 5,1%, railway services - by 6,5%, motor transport - by 17%, sea and river transport - by 5,2%.