Europe – an important aspect of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy and external economic strategy, and the recent events have vividly showed as much. The landmarks in development of equal, mutually advantageous partnership with the European countries were, first of all, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s visit to Brussels, the return visits of the representative delegations of Turkmenistan and the European Union and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Energy Cooperation as a result. The House of Europe works in Ashgabat to coordinate and foster the projects of Turkmenistan-EU co-operation. Turkmenistan enhances the overall ties with the particular European countries –Slovakia’s Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary recently visited Ashgabat to discuss the particular issues of political, economic, cultural and humanitarian partnership with the Turkmen leader. There is every reason to say that in the epoch of new Revival Turkmenistan opens widely the window in Europe attracting new political, economic and cultural prospects and expectancies

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s visit to the Republic of Romania and the Croatian President’s official visit to Turkmenistan marked the beginning of a qualitatively new stage in development of Europe’s partnership with Turkmenistan serving as an indicator of the undisputable enhancement of its international prestige. The top level documents expanded the legal framework of the bilateral relations; the agreements specified the concrete steps towards establishing full-scale co-operation. The major features of the Turkmen-Romanian and Turkmen-Croatian talks were the willingness to develop bilateral collaboration in different formats. During the talks with the Romanian and Croatian allies the Turkmen President called for establishing the direct business contacts between the Parliaments, ministries and departments, companies and enterprises, research and educational centres of both countries. This willingness to establish the horizontal ties among various institutions and communities testifies to the democratic vector of modern Turkmenistan’s development

The agreements were replenished with the new decisions and proposals even in the course of the talks. For example, noting the significance of establishing the Turkmen-Romanian intergovernmental commission for economic co-operation the Turkmen leader suggested that the commission would hold the first meeting in Ashgabat this year. In turn, the Romanian leader expressed the intention to send a big business delegation to Ashgabat this year so that the Romanian partners could study the opportunities and properties of very promising partnership on the long-term basis. Welcoming the proposal to hold a joint business forum involving Croatia’s big companies President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov suggested organizing the trade fairs in Ashgabat and Zagreb in 2009 and 2010 so that Turkmen and Croatian producers could get better acquainted with the national markets and each other’s economic potential.

The common recent historical past, comparable process of sovereign development and similar national priorities aimed at ensuring the better future for the people contribute to bringing Turkmenistan and the Eastern European countries together. Moreover, the complementary interests and existing potential hihglighted the key fields of co-operation with the fuel and energy sector prioritized. As is known, Europe is interested in the additional sources of hydrocarbons and Turkmenistan – in diversified export of its energy resources to the world markets. Turkmenistan’s resource potential and very promising market plus European investments, technologies, equipment and expertise provide the substantial benefit to the partners.

Extrapolating its status of neutrality to the sphere of international economic cooperation Turkmenistan has expressed time and again the readiness to place its energy potential at the service of mankind inviting partners, including those from Romania and Croatia, to collaborate in the particular projects. The country’s views on energy co-operation lack both economic egoism and political conjuncture, these views are guided by the national interests only. Regarding the interests of the Turkmen people, the future generations as of paramount importance the Turkmen leader endeavours to exploit more efficiently the country’s hydrocarbon resources, to develop processing industries oriented to deeper processing of raw materials. Abundant in the proved hydrocarbon reserves Turkmenistan intends to intensify the study and introduction of the renewable energy sources and stands ready to consider the European partners’ proposal though.

The fields of co-operation having all required conditions and potential to develop include, first of all, the sectors, in which the European standards that Turkmenistan orients to, are the highest in the world and correlate with the large-scale national and international projects initiated in the epoch of Revival. These are transport and communication, agriculture and textile industry, industrial engineering and housing construction, tourism. Croatia’s experience can be effectively applied in the Avaza national tourism zone, and co-operation with Ericsson Nikola Tesla – one of the world’s leader in the sphere of telecommunications, information and telecommunication technologies – another factor for the technological revolution not only in the sphere of mobile communication but also administration of ministries, departments, enterprises, air and sea ports, Turkmenistan’s development as an e-society contributing to the accomplishment of the strategic national development plans.

Co-operation with the European countries goes beyond the scope of the bilateral relations, and Bucharest can symbolize Turkmenistan’s multilayered co-operation with Europe. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited this city for the first time to participate in the NATO Summit and it was the first EU capital that the Turkmen leader paid an official visit to. The Turkmen President noted that the top level meeting in Bucharest having strengthened the bridge of friendship and co-operation between the two countries would become a major factor for bringing Europe and Asia, West and East together. The interweaving of the national, regional and other interests in the framework of European partnership that is typical of modern international co-operation is manifested in the combination of the bilateral relations with co-operation in the framework of the European Union and international organisations such as the United Nations and OSCE. In his interview to TDH Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said that all of that created an additional incentive to maintain the bilateral relations as Croatia, for example, could be the ‘open doors’ through which Turkmenistan could export its goods – cotton, textile and food products to the European markets. Focusing on the significance of humanitarian and cultural co-operation the Croatian President said “The high humanitarian values, the cultural component of the public life, positive reformative development that President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov aims the Turkmen society at, all of that prove my prognosis: Croatia and Turkmenistan have long years of friendship and co-operation for the benefit of both peoples ahead.”

Besides strategic energy and humanitarian collaboration the important fields of co-operation include many others, which can be effectively expanded through enhancing the bilateral ties with the particular European countries as well as the EU as a whole. Thus, Turkmen-Romanian co-operation seems very promising in implementing the EU Water Initiative, which was put forward at the Global Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. An important component of this global initiative is the project on partnership of the EU with the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA). From January 1, 2008 Romania will lead the work on implementation of the EU Water Initiative in these countries. Romania like Turkmenistan ranks among 39 countries worldwide, which receive a major part of water from the external resources. In this sphere international co-operation and exchange of experience can play the positive role that was stated in Bucharest by both leaders, who expressed the willingness to profoundly contribute to tackling challenges in this vital sphere and therefore to peaceful sustainable development of the region.