Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan Business Council discusses prospects for cooperation

The meeting brought together business representatives from both countries to discuss new initiatives and projects in sectors such as energy, transport, logistics and agriculture.

Aidar Kazybayev, the Co-Chairman of the Kazakhstan part of the Business Council, and Begench Arazov, the Co-Chairman of the Turkmenistan part, welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of deepening the bilateral dialogue.

"The simplification of mutual commerce is a priority area of our work. That is, through government agencies, we must create the most favourable conditions for promoting the export and import of goods. To do this, it is necessary to get feedback from participants in foreign commerce on what barriers they face most often," Aidar Kazybayev said.

According to the Co-Chairman of the Kazakhstan part, another important issue is the promotion and protection of investments, since more than 50 projects jointly implemented by Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are insufficient. However, the speaker believes that this is a growth point for cooperation.

In his speech, Acting Chairman of the Board of the Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan Assan Zhakishev highlighted the importance of strengthening economic ties with Turkmenistan. He underscored that despite a 35.7% decrease in Kazakhstani exports in the first 8 months of 2024, bilateral commerce continues to develop, and imports of Turkmen goods to Kazakhstan are showing significant growth.

"Today's meeting is a crucial event on the bilateral agenda for the development of commerce and economic relations, and I hope that the interaction of the business circles of our countries within the framework of this dialogue platform will be fruitful, mutually beneficial and will bring our cooperation to a new level. We see great potential for further expansion of cooperation in such areas as energy, transport, agriculture, and logistics. Commerce and economic cooperation between our countries is characterized by significant changes both in the volume of mutual commerce and in the structure of exports and imports," the representative of the Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan added.

The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan, Nurlan Nogayev, also spoke at the meeting, who noted that the Embassy of Kazakhstan provides comprehensive support to entrepreneurs from both countries. In his speech, he stressed the strategic importance of the upcoming visit of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Turkmenistan, which, according to him, will be an important milestone in further strengthening bilateral relations.

At the end of the meeting, Begench Arazov, the Co-Chairman of the Turkmenstan side, pointed out that the meeting of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan Business Council confirmed the general mood to deepen bilateral economic cooperation.

"Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have always been reliable partners, and I am confident that thanks to new initiatives and active dialogue between our business communities, we will be able to open new horizons for mutually beneficial development. Our countries have enormous potential, and now our task is to use it to create joint projects that will bring real benefits to the economies and peoples of both countries," the speaker concluded.

Following the meeting, the parties exchanged plans to organize commerce missions by the end of this year. In addition, the participants agreed to further discuss joint initiatives aimed at developing the agricultural sector and strengthening mutual commerce.