Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, held a meeting with Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria Alexander Schallenberg on the margins of the Central Asia-EU Ministerial Meeting. The visit of the Austrian business delegation to Turkmenistan in December 2023 was discussed during the meeting.
According to the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan press service, the discussions during the talks focused on the current state of bilateral relations and the prospects for cooperation. A significant focus of the meeting was the role of Central Asia within the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), and Turkmenistan expressed its willingness to cooperate with and actively support the organisation's work.
Additionally, on the same day, Rashid Meredov met with Luminita Odobescu, the Romanian Foreign Minister.
At the beginning of the meeting, Odobescu emphasised the role of Central Asia as a strategic partner for Romania, noting that the country serves as a link that strengthens cooperation between the Central Asian region and the EU. Turkmenistan was named as one of Romania's priority partners in the region.
In the trade and economic cooperation framework, the sides focused on the potential of joint projects, including transport and energy. In this context, the two parties highlighted the cooperation within the energy working group and underlined the importance of the Caspian Sea-Black Sea transport corridor.
At the end of the meeting, the ministers signed the Action Plan for 2024-2025 between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania.
Rashid Meredov also met with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus Constantinos Kombos on Monday.
During the meeting, they stressed the urgency of developing political and diplomatic cooperation and creating an appropriate legal framework. They also highlighted the practicality of parallel accreditation of ambassadors in both countries.
The sides also proposed holding consultations on exchanging business delegations and identifying specific trade and economic partnership areas.
On October 23 this year, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, attended the 19th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting held in Luxembourg.
