At a working meeting on improving the activities of the financial and economic sector on Wednesday, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that practical steps should be taken this year to further strengthen the country's economic potential, ensuring high rates of economic and social development. Important among them is the further expansion of foreign trade turnover, for which in 2021 favorable prerequisites and a corresponding contract base were formed.
Thus, in 2021, Turkmenistan actively developed economic and trade relations with neighboring countries - Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran. According to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan became the first CIS country with which Tajikistan has significantly increased its trade turnover, which has increased by more than 2.5 times.
Turkmenistan has been steadily increasing its share in Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover. Turkmenistan ranks one of the top 182 trading partners in the neighboring country. According to the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, the largest volume of foreign trade turnover was recorded in Russia (17.9%), China (17.7%), Kazakhstan (9.3%), Turkey (8.1%), Republic of Korea (4, 5%), Kyrgyzstan (2.3%) and Turkmenistan (2.1%). The bilateral trade zone between the two friendly states will be facilitated by the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan.
At a meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian Commission in October last year, the positive dynamics of bilateral trade was noted. Its expansion will serve as the outcome of the meeting signed by the "Economic Cooperation Program between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the Russian Federation for 2021-2023". The document includes 9 sections on the most promising areas of Turkmen-Russian cooperation, including in the field of trade.
Trade between Turkmenistan and Iran has increased significantly by 84% over the past year. The positive dynamics in the relations between the two countries, which emerged after the meetings and talks of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, allow to intensify trade and economic cooperation in various fields. Its specific aspects were discussed during the working visit of the Turkmen government delegation to Tehran in January.
In general, the positive trends in Turkmenistan's foreign trade turnover associated with its activation, increase in the share of non-energy commodities in exports, decrease in imports, changes in the commodity nomenclature and geographical structure of foreign trade contribute to its sustainable economic stability and sustainable economic growth.
