Turkmenistan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

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Maritime Transport

Turkmenistan and Damen Shipyards Discuss Caspian Port Cooperation

Turkmenistan has held talks with Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group about increasing their collaboration at the Turkmenbashi port on the Caspian Sea. The talks come as Turkmenistan seeks a larger role in the Middle Corridor, a trade network linking Asia and Europe via Central Asia and the Caucasus. The talks took place this week during a visit by Ambassador Sapar Palvanov to the headquarters of Damen Shipyards Group in the Netherlands, according to the Turkmen embassy in Brussels, Belgium. Palvanov is also Turkmenistan’s ambassador to Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as well as head of Turkmenistan’s mission to NATO in Brussels. “The discussions focused on prospects for expanding cooperation between Turkmenistan and Damen Shipyards, including the possibility of joint vessel construction at the shipbuilding facility of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport,” the embassy said. “Particular attention was given to further cooperation in the field of dredging.” Engineers from Damen, a major global shipbuilder, have already worked with their counterparts in Turkmenistan. The country’s Agency of Maritime and River Transport said in 2024 that the Balkan Shipyard in Turkmenbashi would begin assembly of the Damen CSD 650 dredger under Damen’s supervision. At the time, the agency described the assembly as the first step toward “localizing” the production of Damen dredgers in Turkmenistan. “Damen dredgers are in high demand in Turkmenistan, where they are used for dredging, construction and repair of port facilities, and for sand and gravel extraction,” it said. Dredging is important for trade across the Caspian Sea because of declining water levels that could make it more difficult to access ports and navigation channels. In an analysis published by Carnegie Politika last year, writer Aida Amangeldina cited a report saying the Caspian Sea’s level began falling in 1995 and dropped by about two meters between 2006 and 2024. “The Caspian Sea’s falling level is driven by multiple factors including the regulation of river inflows, desalination, and hydrocarbon contamination,” Amangeldina wrote. “The primary cause, however, is climate change, which has led to reduced precipitation and increased evaporation across the drainage basin, exacerbating water loss.”

Wages

Turkmenistan’s Wage Puzzle: Official Salaries Rise, but Transparency Remains Elusive

In most Central Asian countries, checking the average salary is as simple as visiting the national statistics agency’s website. In Turkmenistan, however, wage data remain largely inaccessible. The State Statistics Committee does not publish salary figures online, and its annual statistical yearbooks are available only in printed form inside the country. Nevertheless, occasional official figures emerge, offering a glimpse into a labor market that differs markedly from those of its regional neighbors. As of January 1, 2025, Turkmenistan’s monthly minimum wage stands at 1,410 manats, equivalent to approximately $403 at the official exchange rate. An increase was introduced by presidential decree in July 2024 as part of a nationwide 10% rise in wages, pensions, and social benefits. The minimum wage was about $366 in 2024, and roughly $331 in 2023 at the official exchange rate. Unlike neighboring economies, where wages are increasingly shaped by labor-market conditions, inflation, and private-sector demand, Turkmenistan’s minimum wage is established exclusively by presidential decree and applies uniformly across all sectors, occupations, and age groups. The centralized system leaves little room for market-based wage formation. Although comprehensive official wage statistics remain unavailable, one rare set of figures attributed to the State Statistics Committee was published in 2017. According to those figures, the country’s highest-paid employees worked in the Merchant Marine Fleet, earning 2,387.6 manats per month, or about $682 at the official exchange rate then in use. They were followed by the National Space Agency under the President of Turkmenistan, at 1,909.9 manats, or about $546, and the state-owned Turkmenneft oil company, at 1,861.4 manats, or about $532. The lowest salaries were reportedly paid to employees of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations. The ranking, although dated, is revealing. Rather than finance or technology, which dominate wage tables in many countries, Turkmenistan’s highest-paid sectors in that snapshot were closely tied to state prestige projects and strategic natural-resource industries. A key factor complicating any assessment of income is the country’s dual exchange-rate system. The official rate has long been fixed at about 3.5 manats per U.S. dollar, which is used to calculate salaries in dollar terms for international reporting. However, the parallel market rate is substantially weaker, reducing the real international purchasing power of household incomes. Consequently, official salary figures converted into dollars should be interpreted with caution because they do not necessarily reflect the exchange rate available to ordinary citizens. The gap between official wages and actual living costs also appears significant. While the government continues to subsidize basic food staples such as bread and flour, shortages have often forced households to buy goods in private markets at much higher prices. Free natural gas and water supplies ended in 2019, and utility costs have gradually increased since then, despite continuing subsidies. Public cost-of-living data should be treated carefully, but they point in the same direction. The user-submitted database Numbeo estimates monthly costs for a single person in Ashgabat at about 6,475 manats before rent, more than four times the official minimum wage. Regional comparisons...

Investor Perception

Foreign Investors Remain Interested in Central Asia Despite Volatility, Survey Finds

International investors continue to view Central Asia and the Caucasus as attractive destinations despite heightened geopolitical tensions and market volatility, according to the third annual Investor Perception Report released by Montfort Eurasia. The survey, conducted among institutional investors in the United Kingdom and the United States, found that interest in the region remains high. Overall, 66.3% of respondents reported either strong or moderate interest in investing in Central Asia and the Caucasus, suggesting that the region is increasingly being considered as part of broader emerging-market strategies rather than as a niche destination. Among UK investors, 67.1% expressed strong or moderate interest, while the figure stood at 65.5% in the U.S. Around one-third of respondents in both countries reported very strong interest in the region, with 32.8% in the UK and 34.6% in the U.S. Recent U.S. commercial engagement in Central Asia has also moved from dialogue toward specific deals. The Montfort Eurasia report suggests that investor attitudes have shifted over the past three years. While early interest was driven largely by curiosity, investors are now approaching the region with more detailed financial analysis and due diligence. “Two years ago, the challenge for Central Asia and the Caucasus was getting noticed. Today it is being understood,” said Eleanor Kramers, managing director of Montfort Eurasia. “Investors have arrived and they have arrived as analysts, reaching for financial data and due diligence ahead of headlines. The region has answered their early interest with proof rather than promise, from international listings to sovereign-rating upgrades. The opportunity now is to meet a more serious, more demanding audience with the depth and consistency of information it expects.” One of the clearest signs of that shift is where investors obtain information. Financial analysis has overtaken international news media as the leading source of intelligence about the region, cited by 68.6% of UK respondents and 56.6% of U.S. respondents. According to the report, investors are increasingly evaluating the region through company performance, financial statements, and sector data rather than through media coverage alone. Although interest remains high, the report found that investors’ knowledge of the region has stopped improving. Respondents rated their understanding at 6.63 out of 10 in the UK and 6.79 out of 10 in the U.S., slightly below last year’s peak. Factual awareness also weakened. Only 29% of UK investors correctly estimated trade volumes between the UK and the region, compared with 39% a year earlier, while roughly one-quarter of respondents in both countries could not identify the region’s most business-friendly country. Political and economic risks also remain key considerations. Investment security ranked as investors’ biggest concern, cited by 72.3% of UK respondents and 64.7% of U.S. respondents. Political stability followed closely behind, with 56.2% of UK investors and 52.9% of U.S. investors identifying it as a major factor. Among British respondents, improved political stability was the most frequently cited condition for increasing investment in the region.

Regional Cooperation

Turkmenistan Signs Regional Cooperation Treaty, Reaffirm $1 Billion Kazakh Trade Target

Turkmenistan has signed the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness, and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century, completing another step in the five-country regional agreement during Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev’s official visit to Ashgabat, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said. During the visit, Kosherbayev was received by Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and held talks with Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov. The sides discussed political ties, trade and investment, transport and logistics, energy cooperation, and humanitarian exchanges. The two countries also signed a cooperation program between their foreign ministries for 2027-2028. Trade expansion was one of the key issues on the agenda. Bilateral trade turnover rose 6.8% year-on-year in January-April 2026 to around $180 million, according to the Kazakh side. Both governments reaffirmed plans to raise annual trade to $1 billion, in line with instructions from their presidents. Kazakhstan has also signaled plans to expand non-commodity exports to Turkmenistan. At the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan business forum in Astana, the Kazakh side presented 178 export product categories with a combined potential exceeding $200 million. The products include metallurgy, machinery, food, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, and construction materials. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade, bilateral turnover has more than doubled over the past five years, surpassing $530 million. Kazakh exports to Turkmenistan rose nearly 50% to $316.3 million, while imports from Turkmenistan increased fivefold to $215.8 million. The two sides also discussed expanding trade houses, digital commerce, trade financing, and a roadmap for increasing bilateral trade. Transport and logistics cooperation was another focus, including development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, seen as a strategic route linking Asian and European markets. More than 100 Kazakh companies and around 40 Turkmen businesses took part in the forum. Several agreements were signed in logistics, e-commerce, investment, and business support.

Labor Migration

Central Asian Labor Migration Shifts as Russia Loses Some of Its Pull

Russia remains the main destination for many Central Asian labor migrants, but its dominance is weakening. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Western sanctions, tougher Russian migration rules, and rising hostility toward migrants have pushed workers from the region to look elsewhere. South Korea, the Gulf states, the United Kingdom, Poland, Belarus, and other destinations are increasingly competing with Russia for Central Asian labor. The result is not a collapse of the old migration model, but a visible diversification of flows as the geography of labor migration from the region expands. Kazakhstan: From Destination Country to Source of Skilled Migrants Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, most labor migrants from Central Asia have traveled to Russia in search of work. A shortage of local labor, relatively decent wages, familiarity with the language, and a similar mentality have driven many to seek jobs in major Russian cities. Kazakhstan is an exception. It has not seen mass migration of its own citizens into lower-skilled jobs in Russia such as janitorial or construction work. Kazakhstan’s own economy offers such jobs, unemployment has remained low, and employers continue to report shortages in both manual work and skilled professions. The Bureau of National Statistics put unemployment at 4.5% in the first quarter of 2026. For this reason, Kazakhstan has also long been a destination for migrants from neighboring states, even if Russia has traditionally attracted larger flows. Kazakh citizens working abroad generally aim for higher-paying jobs in sectors requiring qualifications. The government was already tracking this in 2024, when the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection reported, using Foreign Ministry data, that 137,000 Kazakh citizens were abroad for employment purposes. The largest numbers were in Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and the UAE, with smaller numbers in Europe, North America, and elsewhere. A later Ministry report showed the same pattern, with Russia still dominant but alternatives clearly visible: of 126,000 Kazakh citizens employed abroad, 102,000 were in Russia, 15,000 in South Korea, and around 2,000 in the United Kingdom and European Union member states. Those leaving include economists, lawyers, technical specialists, teachers, and medical workers. Although outward labor migration remains limited compared with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, or Tajikistan, it is adding to official concerns about the loss of qualified specialists. Officials believe Kazakhstan’s labor market is vulnerable to external competition, and a large share of those leaving have higher or technical vocational education. Salary gaps and differences in living standards make these destinations attractive. Qatar has recently joined the list of preferred destinations for labor migration. This has been made possible in large part by intergovernmental agreements signed between Qatar and Kazakhstan. Qatar is now actively recruiting Kazakh specialists, particularly in the oil and gas sector. According to Arman Shokparov, co-founder of People Consulting, around 600-700 Kazakh white-collar professionals currently work in Qatar. Nearly half work in the oil and gas sector, mainly in engineering and production roles. This trend does not mean Kazakhstan is only losing workers. It continues to attract immigrants and...

Air Cargo

Turkmenistan Says Air Belgium Will Launch Cargo Flights via Ashgabat

Air Belgium will start cargo flights through Ashgabat International Airport in early August, reflecting Turkmenistan’s hopes of becoming an air cargo hub between Asia and Europe despite its traditional restrictions on the aviation market. Sapar Palvanov, Turkmenistan’s ambassador in Brussels, discussed the plan with Air Belgium CEO Georges Chachati during a recent visit to the headquarters of the Belgian carrier, which focuses on cargo operations through aircraft charter and leasing operations. “Special attention was paid to the practical aspects of the upcoming launch of cargo flights, as well as to technical details related to the organization of this process,” the Turkmen embassy in Belgium said on Friday. “The parties also discussed the possibility of holding a symbolic ceremony to mark the first launch of cargo flights, which is expected to take place in early August of this year.” The embassy said that Chachati, who had met transport leaders during a visit to Turkmenistan, noted the “attractive conditions” at Ashgabat International Airport, including refueling services and technical support. Palvanov said “the development of air logistics is an important part of the country’s broader strategy to expand international transport connectivity and diversify cargo transportation routes,” according to the embassy. Air Belgium’s fleet includes Boeing B747-8F and Airbus A330-243F freighters, according to the Belgian Air Transport Association. The carrier originally served passengers but ran into financial trouble in the early 2020s and shifted its focus to cargo traffic. After entering bankruptcy last year, Air Belgium was rescued when CMA CGM, a French multinational that is one of the world’s top shipping groups, took over the carrier’s cargo operations. Relatively few foreign carriers fly to Turkmenistan compared with other Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which have taken more robust steps to welcome competition and visitors. Although Turkmenistan tightly regulates aviation and favors its national carrier, the country has invested in airport infrastructure and says it hopes to attract more international cargo carriers. Central Asia has become more important as a regional hub for air traffic because many carriers are seeking alternative routes between Europe and Asia amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and periodic conflict in the Middle East.