Russia-Turkmenistan 2024 Bilateral Relations – Update

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with the Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan, and the countries former President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat on Friday (October 11).

“Strategic partnership relations are developing successfully between Russia and Turkmenistan, and this is largely due to your efforts, as you have laid the foundations of such relations, they are very close, trusting, we are very happy about it and will contribute in every possible way to further development” Putin said at the meeting.

He praised the Russian-Turkmen trade and economic relations and said that the two countries continue to work on new projects to develop bilateral relations within the framework of the intergovernmental commission.

According to Putin, close relations have also been maintained at the regional level. “Inter-regional ties are developing well: 60 subjects of the Russian Federation have stable ties with their friends and partners in Turkmenistan. The leaders are Tatarstan, Astrakhan Oblast, and St. Petersburg” the Russian president said.

Putin also noted that Russia is looking forward to the visit of the President of Turkmenistan to Kazan for the BRICS summit, noting that “We have good relations with the current President – both business and personal. He regularly visits Russia, recently he was in Moscow for the CIS summit, and now we are waiting for him in Kazan for the BRICS summit. In my opinion, these will be interesting and useful meetings. Many countries are coming: 35 countries have announced their participation so far.”

Turkmenistan’s political neutrality serves as a favourable basis for the development of economically beneficial relations with its neighbouring states in Central Asia as well as regional powers such as Iran. Ashgabat’s ties with Moscow fit into this dynamic. Given Turkmenistan’s geographical location and significant potential in the development of the ‘Middle’ transport and transit corridor, Russia, seeking alternative trade routes sees the growing importance of relations with Turkmenistan.

For example, the two countries stepped up work on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) to bring it to full capacity. This is opening up a wide field of opportunities for businesses related to the construction of infrastructure, service and trade and logistics centres, and the modernization of seaports. Turkmenistan is also a conduit for Russian trade with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

Russia also looks at Turkmenistan as the latter is one of the main gas-producing countries in the world. This could impact Russia’s gas supplies to Central Asia, China, and elsewhere. For some time, China held a monopoly on Turkmen gas purchases. However, in 2019, the Russian company signed a contract for the purchase of natural gas from Turkmengas for a period of five years – until June 30, 2024. Putin’s visit will have touched on extending this.

For Turkmenistan, this deal is beneficial mainly because it allows them to have more flexibility in negotiations with other buyers, primarily with the Chinese.

Bilateral trade has surged this year, increasing by 73% in the first half of 2024, surpassing US$700 million, according to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. That implies that 2024 Russia-Turkmenistan bilateral trade of about US$1.4 billion for the year is likely to be achieved.

Major exports from Russia to Turkmenistan consist of machinery, equipment and vehicles, food products and agricultural raw materials, products of the chemical industry, metals and various products made from them, wood and pulp and paper products, and mineral products.

Turkmenistan exports textiles and footwear, food products and agricultural raw materials, products of the chemical industry, machinery, equipment, and vehicles, vegetables and certain edible roots and tubers, chemical threads, flat and similar threads from chemical textile materials. Turkmenistan has significantly expanded its product range and is now turning from a single-product exporter of hydrocarbons into a multi-vector trade partner. For Turkmenistan trade with Russia is critical because it guarantees growth in exports of cotton, textile and agroindustrial products, and chemical products to Russia.

Turkmenistan, in turn, is interested in cooperation with Russia in the fields of the pharmaceutical industry (vaccines), shipbuilding (construction of sea vessels for the Caspian flotilla), machine tool and automotive industries (deliveries of KAMAZ and GAZ trucks), and high-tech products (telecommunications equipment, etc.) and exploration. Overall, the Russia-Turkmenistan trade balance has not yet reached full capacity. For example, the numbers are dwarfed by China-Turkmenistan trade which in 2023 amounted to US$11 billion: exports from Turkmenistan to China accounted for US$10 billion, of which more than 90% came from natural gas supplies.