On November 25, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held negotiations with President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who arrived in Kazakhstan on a state visit.
The leaders discussed priority areas of trade, economic, transport, logistics, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Particular attention was paid to joint projects in energy, industrial cooperation, agriculture, IT, education, and medicine.
Over the past five years, bilateral trade has more than quadrupled to exceed half a billion dollars.
Approximately 140 companies with Turkmen capital successfully operating in Kazakhstan make a significant contribution to strengthening economic ties. Kazakh investments in Turkmenistan’s economy have exceeded $120 million.
Tokayev announced that both countries agreed to take the necessary steps to increase mutual trade to $1 billion.
According to Tokayev, transit and transport have acquired strategic importance in today’s realities. The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, which serves as a vital link in the North-South transport corridor, plays a special role here.
“Over the first 10 months of this year, transportation volumes amounted to 1.5 million tons, an increase of 14%. Measures are being taken to optimize tariffs and simplify administrative procedures. We agreed to fully utilize the transport and logistics capabilities of the Caspian ports of Aktau, Kuryk, and Turkmenbashi to intensify container shipping,” Tokayev said.
Agriculture was emphasized as an important area of cooperation.
“We discussed in detail the prospects for increasing Kazakh wheat supplies to the Turkmen market. There is potential for increasing exports of vegetable oil, pasta, meat and dairy products. We also discussed the prospects for building a grain terminal on the Turkmen-Afghan border,” the Kazakh president said.
Photo: akorda.kz
