On November 3, 2023, the working visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the Republic of Kazakhstan took place to participate in the 10th Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States.
During the visit, a meeting took place between the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan and the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
During the negotiations, the President of Kazakhstan thanked the National Leader of the Turkmen people for accepting the invitation and noted that this visit is considered as a significant event in the development of interstate relations and will contribute to their further strengthening.
As the head of the fraternal country emphasized, bilateral cooperation is developing successfully and fully corresponds to the level of strategic interaction. The partnership between our states, initially built on the basis of equality, mutual respect and trust, today is characterized by increasing dynamics.
The National Leader of the Turkmen people expressed deep gratitude to the head of Kazakhstan for the invitation, the warm welcome, hospitality, as well as for the opportunity to meet on the sidelines of the anniversary, 10th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the OTS. In this regard, confidence was expressed that the next summit meeting and the decisions taken within its framework would contribute to the further development of interaction between the member countries of the Organization.
As part of the exchange of views on the current state and prospects of the Turkmen-Kazakh dialogue, the sides stated that over the years of independence, fruitful interaction has been established in political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas. As noted, today these relations have reached a qualitatively new level, having acquired the character of a strategic partnership. In this context, it was emphasized that the current meeting is intended to give additional impetus to increasing cooperation between the two countries.
Our countries closely interact within the framework of authoritative international and regional structures, which is among the priorities in the Turkmen-Kazakh political dialogue. In this regard, the National Leader of the Turkmen people and the President of Kazakhstan especially noted the coincidence or similarity in many positions of the two countries on current issues of the global and regional agenda.
One of the key areas of the Turkmen-Kazakh partnership is the trade and economic sphere. Appropriate steps are being taken to build up productive contacts in this area. At the same time, it was noted that there is significant untapped potential in trade relations, which must be used to increase trade turnover by $1 billion.
In this regard, the subject of a detailed discussion was the specific measures proposed by Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov aimed at strengthening trade and economic cooperation.
One of the topics of the meeting was the transport sector, which has been and remains a strategic vector of interstate cooperation. As noted, joint efforts are creating favorable conditions for enhancing freight and passenger traffic between countries, as well as with other regions of the Eurasian continent.
In this regard, the relevance of further coordinated measures for the full use of the potential of the transcontinental railway communication Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran was stated. Along with this, the effectiveness of creating a transport corridor China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran along the route of the ancient Great Silk Road with access to the ports of the Persian Gulf was emphasized. The interlocutors also spoke in favor of expanding the volume of transportation between the ports of Turkmenbashi and Aktau.
As part of the exchange of views on the possibilities of strengthening partnership in the energy sector, which is one of the key areas of interstate cooperation, Turkmenistan’s readiness to intensify bilateral dialogue on the supply of Turkmen natural gas to Kazakhstan was confirmed. For these purposes, the expediency of organizing a meeting in the near future between the relevant ministries and companies of the two countries was noted.
The parties stated that there are good opportunities to increase the potential of partnership in the electric power industry. In this regard, the National Leader of the Turkmen people informed President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that today the Head of Turkmenistan launched the construction of a power plant with a capacity of 1574 MGt in the Balkan velayat. The new facility will be built on the shores of the Caspian Sea, approximately 250 kilometers from the Turkmen-Kazakh border and will become an additional option for organizing the supply of Turkmen electricity to Kazakhstan, said Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation occupies a special place in bilateral relations. The commonality of history, traditions, language and spiritual values is a component of the strong foundation of friendly relations. As emphasized, representatives of the sphere of culture and art regularly participate in international events organized in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan; Culture Days, Cinema Days, joint concerts, conferences, exhibitions, and festivals are held.
Hero-Arkadag noted that next year the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great Turkmen poet, thinker of the East Magtymguly Fragi is celebrated. Within the framework of the International Organization of Turkic Culture TURKSOY, 2024 has been declared the Year of Magtymguly Fragi. In this regard, various meetings and forums will be held in our country and abroad, including with the participation of this Organization, said the National Leader of the Turkmen people, inviting Kazakh friends to take an active part in these events.
