Turkmenistan, Central Asian countries keen to engage with Asean, says Wisma Putra

KUALA LUMPUR: Turkmenistan, along with other Central Asian countries, have expressed a keen interest in engaging with Asean.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 10), Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said the message was conveyed to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan during his meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, Rashid Meredov, who is also vice president, at Turkmenistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday (Sept 9.

Malaysia will assume the Asean chair in 2025.

Wisma Putra said both foreign ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations between their countries in several areas, including trade and investment, the halal industry, education, tourism, culture and capacity-building.

The ministers recognised Petronas's significant role and contributions to the economic transformation of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas sector since it started operating in 1996.

"They discussed regional and global issues of common concern, such as the situation in Gaza, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the developments in Afghanistan,” it said.

Meanwhile, Mohamad via Facebook also shared about his meeting with Meredov.

"We discussed ways to enhance the relations between our two countries in various fields, especially trade, investment, education, tourism, agriculture, halal products and technical cooperation assistance."

He said Turkmenistan was Malaysia's fourth-largest trading partner in Central Asia in 2023.

He added that Turkmenistan greatly appreciates its friendship with Malaysia and would like to strengthen its relations with the planned visit of Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Malaysia in December.

Mohamad is on an official visit to Turkmenistan from Sept 9 to 10 to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Malaysia and Turkmenistan. – Bernama