TURKMENISTAN AND AUSTRIA AIM TO EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES OF BILATERAL COOPERATION

On March 11–12, 2024, a working visit to Austria by the Turkmen delegation led by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov were held.

During the visit, bilateral meetings were held with the leadership of the Office of the Federal President, the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Economics, as well as the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria.

During the meetings, specific steps for the further development of bilateral relations in political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas were discussed. The need to intensify work within international organizations, especially the UN and OSCE, was also noted. At the same time, the parties expressed their commitment to continue the practice of mutual support for the candidacies of the two countries to various international structures.

To discuss issues of cooperation in the field of education and student exchange, meetings of the Turkmen delegation were held at the Technical University of Graz and at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy.

The visit program also included a round table with business circles represented by more than 25 leading Austrian companies. During the business forum, Austrian business was informed about the investment climate and business opportunities in Turkmenistan.

Business circles in Austria, in turn, identified such sectors as energy, transport, agriculture, digitalization, green economy and others as promising areas of cooperation.

During the visit, meetings were also held with the heads of international organizations based in Vienna, including the OSCE Secretary General, the Executive Director of UNODC, the Director General of UNIDO and the Deputy Director General of the IAEA. The negotiations discussed a wide range of issues related to the promotion of international initiatives of Turkmenistan, strengthening existing ties and identifying new promising areas of multilateral cooperation.

As a result of the visit, three international documents were signed:

- Cooperation program between the foreign ministries of Turkmenistan and Austria for 2024-2025;

- Basic standard cooperation agreement between the Government of Turkmenistan and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO);

- Memorandum of cooperation between the Oguz Khan University of Engineering Technologies of Turkmenistan and the Technical University of Graz.