New Ambassador of Kazakhstan takes office in Turkmenistan

New Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan Yerkebulan Sapiyev was received by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, to whom the diplomat handed his credentials, Trend reports referring to Turkmenistan’s local Altyn Asyr TV channel.

As was stressed during the meeting, the two neighboring countries are important strategic partners. Implemented large infrastructure projects were cited as examples of effective collaboration, and the importance of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway was particularly emphasized.

Such fields as trade, the economic sphere, the transport and communication sector, as well as the energy sector, were identified as promising areas of partnership.

Ashgabat and Nur-Sultan are discussing the prospects of trade and economic partnership, development of the legal framework, cooperation in gas sector, agriculture, development of transboundary mineral deposits, transport, environment and fisheries, as well as the development of cross-border mineral deposits.

Moreover, Kazakhstan is involved in a major project for the delivery of Central Asian gas to China. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has been purchasing Turkmen fuel, which is transported through the territories of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, since 2009.

Another noteworthy project is the project for the construction of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, which was completed in December 2014. According to preliminary estimates, the annual volume of traffic may total 10-12 million tons of cargo. This trade route enables cargo transportation to the countries of the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Europe.

In 2016, Kazakhstan joined the Central Asia - Middle East transport corridor project (Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Iran - Oman). In the future, the new corridor will allow Central Asian countries to connect with the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman by the optimal route.

The possibilities of cooperation in the fields of customs, transport by road, rail and sea, and joint investment are being looked into at the expert level.