The Memorandum of Understanding and Co-Operation in the legal sphere signed by the Turkmen National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights under President of Turkmenistan and the GTZ Project Support of Legal and Justice Reform in Central Asia was the result of the roundtable held in the Turkmen capital. The officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the United Nations, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ashgabat Khyakimlik took part in the forum focused on partnership in the legal and judicial sphere and organized by the Turkmen National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights under President of Turkmenistan.

Addressing the meeting GTZ Project Manager, Professor of the University of Bremen Rolf Knieper said that the processes of establishing of the institutes of civil society and improving of the legal foundation of the state were intensified in Turkmenistan nowadays. Mr. Rolf Knieper said that President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov’s initiatives to promote the democratic processes in the country, to reform fundamentally the national sphere of education and science as a pledge of the fulfillment of the designated tasks were of particular importance in this regard

Mr. Rolf Knieper said that Turkmenistan’s openness, its adherence to the principles of free, market economy as well as the high economic growth rates related to these factors predetermined active development of interstate relations, in which the private, so-called medium-scale business played an important role that in its turn required the guarantees of protection of business interests. The GTZ Project Manager made presentation on the work done in collaboration with the specialists of the Turkmen National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights under President of Turkmenistan and the recommendations and proposals on creation of the most favourable investment and legal climate in the country submitted to the Mejlis and the Government of Turkmenistan for consideration. In particular, Mr. Rolf Knieper focused on the draft law on international commercial arbitration noting that the law would be an important factor of attracting foreign investments that Turkmenistan was much interested in as a dynamically developing state.

Exchanging views the participants emphasized that improvement of the national legislation to bring it in compliance with the international standards and the priorities of national development in the new historical epoch was a cornerstone of the political strategy of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov. The participants were unanimous that the constructive dialogue in the judicial and legal sphere including the experience and information exchange should be continued and expressed belief that the Memorandum would be an effective step towards this goal and promote intensifying fruitful co-operation between Turkmenistan and Germany.