The first meeting of the Austrian-Turkmen Society this year was held in Vienna, during which issues of developing mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation were discussed. The event was held at the office of Waagner Biro steel and glass.

The meeting was attended by board members and society participants, heads of Austrian companies, as well as representatives of Turkmen companies who connected online from Ashgabat. The guest of honor at the meeting was the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Austria, Hemra Amannazarov, Turkmenportal correspondent reports.

The head of the Austrian-Turkmen Society Neda Berger expressed sincere gratitude to the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the gift she received in honor of her anniversary.

It was a book with her poems, published in 4 languages with an introductory article dedicated to cooperation between Turkmenistan and Austria, as well as N. Berger’s personal contribution to the development of friendly relations between the two countries.

In her response letter, Neda Berger thanked the National Leader of the Turkmen people for this invaluable gift and expressed gratitude for the constant support of all initiatives and projects of the Austrian-Turkmen Society over the 16 years of its existence.

Then the head of the company introduced all the meeting participants and asked them to talk about the activities of their companies.

Particular attention during the meeting was paid to the working visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov to Austria on March 11-12. During negotiations with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schellenberg, an Agreement on Cooperation between the foreign ministries of the two countries for 2024-2025 was signed.

During the visit, Neda Berger took the initiative to create the House of Austria in Ashgabat in 2025, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the permanent neutrality of Austria and the 30th anniversary of the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan.

In addition, it was reported that in early May a group of Austrian companies that are members of the Austrian-Turkmen Society will arrive in Ashgabat on a return working visit.

The head of the society also announced the first project of 2024 - a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Austrian-Turkmen Society and the “Bash Taglym Turkmen” company, operating in Turkmenistan as “Baker Tilly”, an independent member of the Baker Tilly International network. The subject of the Memorandum is the provision of professional services in the field of finance and interaction with financial institutions.

A lively discussion also was held on other issues on the agenda, including those related to the society’s website and work with the media to cover events in Turkmenistan. Proposals were made for 2024 aimed at greater representation of Turkmenistan in Austria.

All participants demonstrated their commitment to further expand interaction and cooperation with Turkmenistan. The need to hold regular meetings of the society to consider opportunities for bilateral interaction was emphasized.

Over the 16 years of its existence, the Austrian-Turkmen Society has created a solid basis for constant and effective cooperation in the cultural and economic spheres between Austria and Turkmenistan.