Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech at the business forum, M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), stated that Turkmen companies now want to invest in Türkiye on a large scale, including industrial production, and said, “Moving forward, we should aim for our companies to do business in third countries together with Turkmen companies.”

At the forum at TOBB Twin Towers, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that Turkmenistan has launched a comprehensive industrialization and development move.

Stating that Turkmenistan has become a center of attraction in Central Asia with decisive steps in line with this vision, Hisarcıklıoğlu continued as follows:

“The number of projects undertaken by Turkish companies in Turkmenistan has reached nearly 2,000. The value of these projects is around 51 billion dollars. Turkmenistan is one of the countries in the world where the Turkish private sector has undertaken the highest number of projects. I would like to thank the Honorable President for his trust and confidence in Turkish entrepreneurs. Thanks to your support, Turkish contracting companies have risen to the second place in the world scale.”

Stating that the Turkmen companies that came with the delegation now want to invest in Türkiye on a large scale, including industrial production, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Moving forward, we should aim for our companies to do business in third countries together with Turkmen companies. We have initiative groups doing this; we need to increase their number even more.”

Pointing out that Turkmenistan is rapidly progressing towards becoming an international center in the field of transportation and transport, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Yesterday, we used to call the Caspian Sea ‘the sea that separates us’. Thanks to you, the Caspian Sea will be ‘the sea that unites us’ from now on. It is in our hands to turn this opportunity into a common gain. For this, we would also like to thank you for reducing the port costs in Turkmenistan.”

- “We want our region to be a trade base”

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Turkmenistan’s opening its borders to transit for foreign drivers is a very positive development and said, “We want to revive the historical Silk Road with wide train networks, road transportation lines, energy corridors, and to be the trade base of our region by working together again.”

Stating that they are also working hard for the Trans-Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline Project, Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “As the Turkish private sector, we are ready to contribute to this. If we do these, we will also ensure that the Middle Corridor stands out in the transportation between China and Europe. The world is in the midst of a great change. The center of gravity of the global economy is shifting from west to east. In such an environment, cooperation between Türkiye and Turkmenistan will change the fate of the entire region. Because Türkiye and Turkmenistan are the leading actors of this region. Together, we can make the Turkic geography a center of peace and prosperity. We can open new horizons for the Turkic world. Today, we have once again confirmed that we are two different states of one nation.”

- Turkmenistan President Berdimuhamedov

In his speech, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov pointed out that the transport and communication sector is promising and noted that the aim is to create a joint “transport and logistics center” with the participation of state and private companies in order to strengthen and harmoniously carry out the cooperation process in this field.

Pointing out that the agricultural sector is one of the important areas of the economy, Berdimuhamedov said, “Our main task is to ensure food security of our countries and to contribute to international efforts in this direction.” Berdimuhamedov underlined that they have invested a large amount in the agricultural sector in his country.

Emphasizing the threats posed by climate change, Berdimuhamedov stated that they plan to modernize water supply and distribution systems and that they attach importance to regional and international cooperation in this project.

- Call for cooperation in the field of information and technology

Berdimuhamedov, referring to the project on the expansion of the Karakum Canal in Turkmenistan and the renewal of the infrastructure of its side canals, said that they are in close contact with Turkish companies in this regard.

Stating that the importance of science and technology is increasing, Berdimuhamedov proposed to develop cooperation in the field of technology and said, “In this framework, I think it is necessary to establish cooperation between the companies of the two countries specialized in the field of information and communication technologies. I express the readiness of the Turkmen side to carry out joint activities in this direction.”

"The Turkmen side aims to raise trade and economic relations with Türkiye to a new level in terms of quality," Berdimuhamedov said, adding that they are open to hearing proposals if they are suitable for both sides.

Berdimuhamedov stated that cooperation talks could be continued within the framework of the Turkic Export Products Exhibition to be organized in Turkmenistan on December 6-8 and suggested that the next Türkiye-Turkmenistan Business Forum be held in Ashgabat.

- Vice President Yılmaz

Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said that the relations between Turkmenistan and Türkiye are supported by a strong political will at the level of leaders, have historical depth and are enriched in every aspect.

Stating that one of the most concrete indicators of the relations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan is in the field of trade, Yılmaz said: “Praise Allah, our trade has been on a good upward trend in recent years. In 2022, trade between the countries exceeded 2 billion dollars. With the trade volume we reached in the first nine months of 2023, we have already surpassed the 2022 figure, our trade has reached a volume of 2.1 billion dollars. We believe that we will reach 3 billion dollars by the end of the year.”

Stating that the bilateral trade volume target is 5 billion dollars and that this target will be reached as soon as possible with the efforts and partnerships of the business world of Türkiye-Turkmenistan, Yılmaz said:

“Another very important field in Turkmenistan is the contracting sector. When you look at it, we see 1077 projects and a contracting sector volume exceeding 50 billion dollars. This is a very important figure. This corresponds to 11 percent of the projects undertaken by our contractors worldwide and Turkmenistan is the second largest market for Turkish contracting after the Russian Federation. In this respect, we have indeed taken a very important distance.”

Vice President Yılmaz stated that the Turkish Export Products Fair will be held in Turkmenistan on December 6-8 and that they expect the business world to show great interest in the fair.

- Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır

In his speech at the Türkiye-Turkmenistan Business Forum, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that the heads of state of Türkiye and Turkmenistan are acting in line with the goal of increasing the trade volume of the two countries to 5 billion dollars and said, “We invite our Turkmen friends to invest more in Türkiye and take advantage of the opportunities offered by our country.”

In his speech, Kacır said that the reflections on investments and trade will be stronger with the understanding of mutual respect, cooperation and serving the common interests of the peoples.

Kacır said that they aim to increase the trade volume between the parties from 2.1 billion dollars in 2022 to 5 billion dollars as soon as possible and to increase the number of Turkish investments in Turkmenistan. Minister Kacır said that Turkish companies are responsible for more than 1000 projects in Turkmenistan, including many industrial facilities.

Stating that Turkish companies and investors are aware that Turkmenistan is a growing market with significant opportunities, Kacır said: “The renewal of the Agreement on Mutual Encouragement and Protection of Investments signed in 1992 will be an important step to reach our heads of state’s target of a trade volume of 5 billion dollars. We invite our Turkmen friends, with whom we share a common history, language, religion and culture, to invest more in Türkiye and take advantage of the opportunities offered by our country.”