Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili held high-level meetings with Turkmenistan’s senior officials during her visit to the country, including with President Serdar Berdimuhamedow.

According to Kvrivishvili, the meeting with the President centred on the further development of trade and economic relations between the two countries, as well as on cooperation within the framework of the Middle Corridor.

“We had a rather comprehensive discussion of the opportunities available to both countries from the perspective of trade and economic relations. Considerable emphasis was placed on the potential for growth in Turkmen investment, particularly in the manufacturing sector. During the meeting with the President, we also discussed Georgia’s potential, particularly in the context of the Middle Corridor, and the crucial role that freight turnover plays in this regard. Turkmenistan is one of our most distinguished partners in terms of cargo flows; we discussed the opportunities that would strengthen our country’s positioning and role as a connecting link, including in terms of transit for goods originating from Turkmenistan and passing through Georgia towards other countries, and towards the European Union in particular,” the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development stated.

According to Kvrivishvili, the meeting with the Turkmen President also highlighted opportunities to strengthen cooperation across various sectors, including expanding ties in tourism and exploring the possibility of introducing direct flights between the two countries.

“We also spoke about closer cooperation in the energy sector, and what might be done to foster even greater activity and deeper trade and economic relations between our countries in this area,” Kvrivishvili noted.

The Georgian delegation, led by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, participated in the fifth session of the Georgian-Turkmen Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, held in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat. During the visit, Kvrivishvili also met with Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and Minister for Trade and International Economy, Nokerguly Atagulyev.

“In the course of the visit, we once again had the opportunity to speak comprehensively about all the possibilities available to our two countries across trade, logistics, transport, tourism, direct flights, energy, and a great many other areas,” Kvrivishvili stated.