Turkmenistan puts forward an initiative to create a “Central Asia + ACEAH” format. As reported by TDH, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on Saturday, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov informed that in order to expand cooperation and taking into account Malaysia’s chairmanship in 2025 in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ACEAH), it is proposed to begin implementing Turkmenistan’s initiative to create a “Central Asia + ACEAH” format.

It was noted that the development of relations with the states of the Asia-Pacific region, and especially with Malaysia, is one of the main vectors of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy.

As is known, diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and Malaysia were established on May 17, 1992 and are currently gaining momentum. The legal framework of the Turkmen-Malaysian partnership is enshrined in 43 interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents.

In the trade and economic sphere, Malaysia is a long-standing partner of Turkmenistan. An example of this is the activities of the company “Petronas carigali”, which has been implementing long-term and large-scale projects in our country since 1996.

As reported, during the visit of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to the friendly country, high-level negotiations were held, and priority areas were identified in order to build up bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation. These include the oil and gas sector, electric power, transport and logistics, urban development and industry.

In this regard, for the practical implementation of tasks in the field of trade and economic partnership, it is proposed to create a Coordination Committee or Council as an interstate coordination mechanism between Turkmenistan and Malaysia.

Along with this, it was noted that the head of state proposed to consistently develop Turkmen-Malaysian relations in the spheres of culture, science and education, as well as expand the scope of specialties, which include modern disciplines aimed at introducing “green” standards in innovation, software, artificial intelligence, economics and industry.

During the official visit of the President of Turkmenistan to Malaysia, a meeting was held with the management of the Petronas company and a wide range of issues of cooperation in the oil and gas industry were discussed.

Following the visit, 14 interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents were signed and adopted, designed to further strengthen the legal framework of bilateral relations.

After hearing the report, the head of state noted that Turkmenistan attaches particular importance to the development of dialogue with Malaysia. As emphasized, during the recent official visit, a number of negotiations were held and important documents were signed, which became a significant step in bringing cooperation with this country to a new level.

Having approved the proposals voiced, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov instructed the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to continue the work being carried out in order to further expand friendly interstate relations.