On March 27, 2024, a meeting was held between the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and representatives of the business community of the Republic of Korea. The subject of discussion was issues related to the current conditions and promising areas of bilateral cooperation.

The Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan expressed confidence that the current visit of Korean business executives will become an important step in the development of the mutually beneficial established partnership, and wished success in the implementation of new initiatives to expand ties.

In this context, the Chairman of Halk Maslahaty focused on the fact that in the Epoch of the Revival of a new era of powerful state, based on the National Program for the Socio-Economic Development of Turkmenistan in 2022–2052 and the “Program of the President of Turkmenistan for the Socio-Economic Development of the Country in 2022–2028 years" large-scale industrialization work is underway. This opens up new areas of interaction with Korean partners.

The President and CEO of Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. Hong Hyong Song conveyed greetings and wishes from the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea and from the head of the Turkmen-Korean Friendship Group from the Korean side to the National Leader of Turkmen People, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation.

The National Leader of the Turkmen people noted that during a visit to the Republic of Korea in November 2022, at a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, were discussed topics related to the further development of friendly interstate dialogue.

It worth noting that Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea interact constructively at multilateral platforms. Demonstrating the similarity of positions on key aspects of the regional and global agenda, our countries support each other’s initiatives put forward within the UN and other international structures. Interstate cooperation in the “Central Asia – Republic of Korea” format is also inherent in its effectiveness.

In addition, an integral part of Turkmen-Korean relations is cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, where regular contacts have been established in the areas of education, science and culture. Main aspects here are the organizations of various joint creative events in both countries, the implementation of educational programs, and the stimulation of connections between scientific centers. Great significance is also attached to the cooperation in healthcare, sports and tourism.

Thus, representatives of the Republic of Korea took part in the International Conference “Main Directions and Potential for the Development of Tourism in Turkmenistan” held in our country. As for healthcare, agreements have been reached on interaction between institutions in this area, and also bilateral documents have been signed.

Active cooperation is carried out in the political-diplomatic, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres. At the same time, an important role is given to the parliamentary diplomacy and strengthening ties between legislative bodies. The great importance is attached to the activities of the Interparliamentary Friendship Group “Turkmenistan–Republic of Korea”.

Arkadag also highly appreciated the partnership with leading Korean companies that have been productively working in the petrochemical, gas processing, motor transport and other sectors of the Turkmen economy for many years. Currently, a significant part of the public transport fleet of Turkmenistan, consists of Korean-made vehicles.

The National Leader also noted with satisfaction that with the participation of Korean collaborates, the construction of a gas desulphurization plant at the «Galkynyş» field. In addition, the installations for the production of high-octane motor gasoline at the Turkmenbashi complex of oil refineries, and a gas chemical complex for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene in the Balkan region were successfully completed.

The National Leader of the Turkmen people focused on opportunities for expanding cooperation in developing the «Galkynyş» gas field, as well as intensifying the construction of the international TAPI gas pipeline. In this regard, Arkadag voiced proposals regarding joint work on the development of the fourth stage of the «Galkynyş» field and the construction of a training center in our country to teach young people Korean language.

Continuing the topic, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized the presence of many years of experience in Turkmen-Korean business interaction and the opening of new prospects for the development of long-term partnership, taking into account big plans related to the extraction and processing of “blue fuel”. In this context, an important requirement in the implementation of specialized projects is the use of innovative progresses and high technologies.

Noting wide opportunities for cooperation in various areas, the businessmen confirmed their readiness to take part in a large-scale infrastructure projects ongoing in Turkmenistan and expressed confidence that appropriate agreements would be reached on them. Along with this, it was noted that one of the important concerns of our time is the training of qualified specialists and the exchange of practices.

Representatives of the business community of the Republic of Korea emphasized that the energy and chemical resources available in our country are highly recyclable which is also a significant factor for effective collaboration.

It is worthy to note that there are also sufficient opportunities for productive work in the shipbuilding industry. As it is known, the Balkan shipbuilding and ship repairing factory signed a contract with «Koryo Shipbuilding Industry Technology Co., Ltd» of the Republic of Korea for the joint construction of two dry cargo ships with a carrying capacity of 6100 tons. Relevant activities are being carried out in this direction as well as measures are being taken to obtain certification for the Balkan factory according to international ISO standards. The issues of training qualified specialists are also considered.

Among the strategic vectors of partnership are transport, logistics and cargo transportation. It is planned to establish direct flights between two states.

Expressing gratitude to Arkadag for the well-organized, substantive conversation that took place, the guests again confirmed the readiness of the business circles of the Republic of Korea to expand long-term mutually beneficial cooperation with Turkmenistan.