The Turkmen-Kazakh talks held in Ashgabat supplemented the series of meetings held over the past six months between President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the leaders of the Central Asian countries, which showed the leading role of our country in the unifying regional processes. In August, Turkmenistan organized a Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian States in Avaza, which confirmed the common vision of the future of the region as an important geopolitical player in the world arena and gave a serious impetus to the interaction of all Central Asian states. During bilateral negotiations with the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarovs, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, specific aspects of strategic partnership in trade, economic, energy and transport spheres, in industrial and agro-industrial cooperation, in joint response were discussed. on climatic, environmental and epidemiological challenges, in promoting cultural dialogue and humanitarian contacts.
Each of these meetings took place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust, understanding of the commonality of long-term goals and interests, readiness to enrich traditional areas of cooperation with new formats and openness to new areas of partnership. In their aspiration for a close and multifaceted dialogue for the long term, the leaders of the Central Asian countries focused their attention on coordinating efforts on the regional and global agenda, on more fully realizing the enormous potential of cooperation, using complementary opportunities and jointly solving problems important for the region.
This is confirmed by the results of the completed Turkmen-Kazakh negotiations at the highest level, which became another contribution to the achievement of the common goal - the transformation of Central Asia into a prosperous and favorable region for the life of its peoples with a high degree of trade, economic, transport, communication and cultural and humanitarian connectivity. Among the significant results of this meeting are the Treaty on the delimitation of the Kazakh-Turkmen state border and the delimitation of adjacent sections of fishing zones in the Caspian Sea, as well as the Intergovernmental Agreement on the regime of the border, which completed the legal registration of land and sea borders between the two countries. The importance of these documents is obvious in the light of the generally recognized view of the settlement of state borders as a fundamental factor that excludes any tension in relations between neighboring countries and opens up scope for productive cooperation. Zones of mutual trade are opening on the border territories or new formats of cooperation are being created, in particular, provided for by the Agreement of Intent for the construction of a cable border crossing and the docking of infocommunication telecommunication networks of the CE "Türkmentelekom" and JSC "Jusan Mobile" on the border of Turkmenistan / the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In the traditional trade and economic sphere, an agreement was reached on the adoption of a package of measures aimed at a significant increase in the volume of mutual trade. Kazakhstani partners also proposed to hold interregional forums annually, to create in the Mangistau region of Kazakhstan and in the Balkan velayat of Turkmenistan a special border trade zone with a car cargo terminal.
The long-term Turkmen-Kazakh cooperation in the fuel and energy and transport and logistics spheres has been enriched with new proposals. In order to realize the mutual potential of the parties as the largest suppliers of energy resources to international markets, Turkmenistan expressed its readiness to substantively discuss technical, organizational and other issues related to the possibilities of organizing supplies of Turkmen natural gas.
The main tasks in the transport and logistics sphere are the full loading of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway line, the use of wide opportunities for interaction between the Caspian ports of Aktau, Kuryk and Turkmenbashi, the development of road communications, including the construction of a bridge across the Garabogaz Bay to launch a new highway in direction of Kazakhstan. Along with such promising projects in traditional spheres of cooperation, prospects for cooperation were noted in such new areas as the aerospace sphere.
The heads of the two friendly states also discussed the possibilities of industrial cooperation between enterprises of the agro-industrial complex, mechanical engineering, food and light industries, and the implementation of joint economic projects in other areas.
Special attention in the course of the Turkmen-Kazakh negotiations at the highest level was paid to cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, intensification of cooperation in the field of science and technology, sports and tourism. The relevant ministries and departments were instructed to organize on a reciprocal basis the Days of Culture and Cinema of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2022.
As emphasized in the Joint Statement of the Heads of the two states signed at the end of the meeting, noting the significance of the first state visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Turkmenistan, which gave a new impetus to the entire range of interstate relations, the Parties spoke for the further development of an active and constructive dialogue at the highest, high and other levels.
Ogulgozel Rejepova