Trade deal: Kazakhstan to boost wheat exports to Turkmenistan

The Presidents of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan announced this during today's media briefing in Astana.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that agriculture remains a key area of bilateral cooperation.

“We discussed in detail the prospects for increasing Kazakh wheat supplies to the Turkmen market. Here, we have reserves to expand exports of vegetable oils, pasta products, as well as dairy and meat goods. We also addressed prospects for constructing a grain terminal on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border,” the Head of State said.

The Kazakh President also highlighted joint projects in the energy sector. He noted that Kazakhstan has long been a reliable partner in transporting Turkmen natural gas to China. As a result of today’s talks, the parties agreed to continue cooperation on ongoing gas processing projects and the development of gas transportation infrastructure. The Agreement on Strategic Cooperation for Gas Sector Development, signed last year, provides a solid foundation for this work.

Given Kazakhstan’s experience in public-service digitalization and adoption of IT technologies, the country invited Turkmenistan to jointly implement projects in this field.

The Turkmen President outlined his nation’s stance on the deepening of strategic partnership ties.

“Discussing bilateral agenda issues, special attention was paid to expanding trade and economic cooperation. We reviewed strategies to broaden and diversify mutual trade, along with steps to boost investment policy for implementing joint large-scale projects in industrial cooperation. In this context, we attach great importance to strengthening ties between the business communities of the two countries.

The energy sector traditionally remains one of the key areas of bilateral cooperation. Turkmenistan expressed readiness to continue collaborating along this avenue. It was also noted that Turkmenistan has significant opportunities to expand cooperation in the electric energy and chemical industries.

Transport and logistics form a strategic component of our partnership. Considering the current geopolitical and geo-economic landscape, it is especially crucial to enhance the operations of existing East–West and North–South transport and transit corridors,” Serdar Berdimuhamedov stated.

As Qazinform reported, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Serdar Berdimuhamedov held a press conference after talks in Astana. During the briefing, it was announced that Kazakhstan plans to open a university branch in Turkmenistan.

Previously, Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan and Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan adopted a joint statement following talks in Astana.

Qazinform News Agency reported Kazakhstan’s investments in Turkmenistan’s economy have exceeded USD 120 million.

During extended talks at Akorda, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov described Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as "strategic partners."

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev awarded his Turkmen counterpart, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the Altyn Qyran (Golden Eagle) Order.