(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 19. Turkmenistan and
Russia are showing active dynamics in expanding bilateral trade and
economic cooperation, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Russia to Turkmenistan Ivan Volinkyn told Trend in
an exclusive interview.
"Over the past five years, Russia has been one of Turkmenistan's
main trading partners, with an annual turnover exceeding $1.6
billion. At the same time, the supply of Turkmen products to the
Russian market is constantly increasing; imports of textiles and
food products to Russia have almost doubled," Volinkyn said.
According to him, economic relations between the two countries
are being discussed at a consistently high level, including within
the framework of a specially created Intergovernmental
Russian-Turkmen Commission.
"The inaugural Russian-Turkmen Business Forum was held in
Ashgabat in January 2023. This indicates the high business activity
of entrepreneurs and the mutually beneficial nature of doing
business," he stressed.
The Ambassador stressed that the best guideline for Russian
investors is the strategy of Turkmenistan until 2052, which defines
the vector of socio-economic development of the country for the
long term.
"Turkmenistan plans to increase investments in the formation of
transportation and logistics corridors, the modernization of the
fuel and energy complex, the development of new and innovative
industries, and agricultural reform with an eye toward producing
environmentally friendly products within the framework of
medium-term programs. This strategy aids in the cooperative
execution of infrastructure projects and the growth of bilateral
trade between our nations," Volinkyn added.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the transport ministries of
Turkmenistan and Russia are currently working together more
closely, with a focus on their combined efforts to boost traffic
along the International North-South Transport Corridor's eastern
route.
"Currently, Russian Railways JSC is negotiating with Turkmen
partners to increase the volume of transit by rail through the
introduction of end-to-end cargo flow technology, setting up
electronic data exchange on routes, creating competitive tariff
conditions, and attracting additional cargo volumes through
multilateral logistics companies," Volinkyn said.
He noted that there is potential for the development of
multimodal opportunities with the inclusion of the transport
corridor, Turkmenbashi International Seaport in Turkmenistan, and
the Caspian Sea highway, whose construction is being considered
with the Russian company "Vozrozhdenie."
The ambassador highlights that there is a lot of potential for
commercial and economic cooperation between Turkmenistan and
Russia.
"Advanced technologies are being introduced through
collaborative efforts in the development of industrial and
infrastructure facilities, land cadastral management, and
geological investigation. In the domains of sports, tourism,
education, health, irrigation, and seed production, collaboration
is actively taking place. This level of corporate links validates
the status of the strategic cooperation between Russia and
Turkmenistan, which is protected by pertinent bilateral
agreements," Volinkyn added.
Meanwhile, Russia is Turkmenistan's leading partner in terms of
trade turnover among the countries of the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS).
Foundation of the International North-South Transport Corridor
was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed
between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia,
India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan,
Türkiye and Ukraine) have ratified the agreement.
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