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Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Strengthen Ties with New Cooperation Agreement

By Aygerim Sarymbetova January 31, 2025

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Turkmenistan's Foreign Affairs Minister Rashit Meredov and his Uzbek counterpart, Bakhtiyor Saidov, signed the Cooperation Program between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs for 2025-2026 and the Protocol on inventory and improvement of the legal framework of bilateral relations, in Tashkent, on January 27, 2025. / MFA Turkmenistan

The foreign ministries of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have signed a two-year cooperation program.

As part of a visit by a Turkmen delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Rashit Meredov to Uzbekistan on January 26–27, the two sides signed the Cooperation Program between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for 2025–2026 and the Protocol on Inventory and Improvement of the Legal Framework of Bilateral Relations, according to the website of the Turkmen foreign ministry.

Before the signing ceremony, Minister Meredov held talks with his Uzbek counterpart, Bakhtiyor Saidov, as well as President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his special representative for foreign policy, Abdulaziz Kamilov – who is also a deputy head of Uzbekistan’s Security Council and a former foreign minister.

The Turkmen and Uzbek ministers discussed the development of political and diplomatic dialogue, the significant role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening Turkmen-Uzbek relations, and close cooperation within regional and international organizations, particularly the UN.

Both sides emphasized the importance of the joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade-Economic, Scientific-Technical, and Cultural Cooperation and other mechanisms for enhancing trade and economic collaboration.

During the meeting, they also exchanged views on deepening cooperation in transport and logistics, energy, water management, and industry.

Additionally, discussions covered preparations for upcoming high-level visits, a consultative meeting of regional heads of state, and summits in the “Central Asia+” format.

In a separate meeting, the Uzbek president and the Turkmen foreign minister addressed key issues in advancing Turkmen-Uzbek cooperation in political-diplomatic, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian fields.

Trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan amounted to $1.14 billion in 2024, reflecting a 4.5% decline compared to the same period in 2023. Uzbekistan’s exports to Turkmenistan totaled $128.2 million, while imports from Turkmenistan amounted to $1.02 billion.

In mid-January, Uzbek Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov announced plans to develop international transit routes, including new corridors through Turkmenistan.

According to Makhkamov, key routes will include Turkmenistan–Iran–Türkiye–EU and Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Europe. Additionally, Uzbekistan plans to introduce “green corridors” to simplify customs procedures and accelerate cargo flow.

Following a sharp decline in domestic gas production in recent years, Uzbekistan has increasingly relied on gas imports from Russia and Turkmenistan. Turkmen gas deliveries have helped mitigate public dissatisfaction over energy shortages caused by sustained freezing temperatures.

In December 2023, an agreement was reached to boost Turkmen gas exports to Uzbekistan. Previously, in December 2022, Uzbekistan signed a contract to import 1.5 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas. In August 2023, another contract was signed to import up to 2 billion cubic meters.

Uzbekistan’s gas production fell by 4.8% in January–September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 33.48 billion cubic meters, according to Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency.

Turkmenistan holds some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, estimated at around 15 trillion cubic meters, allowing it to produce approximately 80 billion cubic meters annually.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s natural gas reserves are estimated at 1.8 trillion cubic meters. However, production has declined from a peak of 61.6 billion cubic meters in 2018 to 46.7 billion in 2023, with a further 4.8% drop in the first 10 months of 2024, totaling nearly 39 billion cubic meters. The government aims to boost production by 33% by 2030, returning to 2018 levels.