The delegation of the European Union reported on March 13 that Ambassador Diego Ruiz Alonso, at a meeting with Turkmen Deputy Foreign Minister Myahri Byashimova discussed the exchange of high-level visits.
The diplomat also noted that visits of EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala, EU Special Representative for human rights Eamon Gilmore, and the European Parliament Delegation were scheduled.
As per the report, Alonso underlined the need to take advantage of this to provide a legal framework that could bring bilateral relations between the EU and Turkmenistan bilateral relations to another level.
The information said that the EU and Turkmenistan have cooperated for 30 years in various fields, including human rights, rule of law, democratization, education, customs, agriculture, energy, transit, logistics, and economy.
"With the new global and regional challenges, it is important to reconsider the priority actions moving toward green transition and improving the business climate in Turkmenistan, and strengthen the existing channels of communication, including through the annual bilateral high-level meetings," the press release said.
Byashimova noted that partnership with the European Union is one of the key directions of the foreign policy of Turkmenistan.
It should be noted that the European Parliament has not yet ratified the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Turkmenistan, and therefore bilateral ties have been governed for some ten years by an Interim Trade Agreement.
Eurostat previously reported that from January to October 2022, trade between Turkmenistan and the EU amounted to €816.94mn, compared with €1.357bn for 2021 as a whole.
The EU hopes to import Turkmen gas and has long been discussing the construction of a 300-kilometer pipeline across the Caspian Sea to then link it to infrastructure in Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Europe.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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