Turkmenistan International Affairs - The Times Of Central Asia

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Swedish Company to Help Turkmenistan Establish Fast Payment System

The Swedish IT company "CMA," specializing in software solutions for financial markets, has signed an exclusive agreement with Turkmen company "Abraýly Işler", at the International Conference “HI-TECH Turkmenistan 2024.” Noting the value of cooperation in creating a national system of fast payments, CMA Regional Director Maxim Nescheret stated, “We have already implemented similar projects in more than 50 countries, and we hope to share our experience with Turkmenistan in creating this important system.” CMA, founded in 1983, currently provides over 37 central banks and many commercial banks worldwide with solutions for instant payment systems, central depositories, and automated clearing houses. Built on CMA's advanced technology platform for high performance, scalability, and security, the service is customized to meet each client's needs. In addition to the fast payment system, CMA is engaged in discussion with Turkmenistan's stock market regarding the possibility of creating basic services, including a central depository and settlement center, to help attract external investments and expand cooperation with foreign investors. Although Turkmenistan is actively modernizing its banking sector and digital payments, including the introduction of a contactless payment system and mobile applications to facilitate transactions, challenges remain. One of the main issues is the need for infrastructure to support fast and contactless payments. Although local banks such as Halkbank have introduced mobile apps and terminals for contactless transactions, their usage remains limited. Moreover, people often lose money due to bank failures and technical problems.

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Central Asia Seeks Increase in Trade with China

On September 12, the Central Asia-Jiangsu Trade Center, a multifunctional platform showcasing exports from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, opened in Nanjing, the main city of Jiangsu Province in eastern China. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration, the operation of the Center in Jiangsu Province, known for its developed infrastructure, will facilitate access to the huge Chinese market for all five Central Asian countries. Plans are now in place to launch a similar multifunctional center in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to showcase Chinese and Kazakh goods. Official statistics show continued growth of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China. During the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade increased by 2.8% compared to the same period in 2023, and amounted to $16.8 billion. Between January and July 2024, trade between Kazakhstan and Jiangsu Province grew by over $1 billion, from $723.3 million to $1.758 billion. As reported by Kazakh Minister of Trade Arman Shakkaliyev, Jiangsu Province currently imports products, mainly from the industrial and agricultural sectors, worth more than $266 billion annually.

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Work Begins on Afghan Section of the TAPI Gas Pipeline

Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have now begun construction of the Afghan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline. To mark the launch of work on the pipeline’s Serhetabat-Herat section, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the Prime Minister of the Taliban-led Afghan government, attended a ceremony at a checkpoint on the Turkmen-Afghan border on September 11. The staged installation of the TAPI pipeline, already completed in Turkmenistan, will eventually transfer 33 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas annually to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. At an estimated cost of $10 billion, the TAPI pipeline will span 1,814 kilometers. With 816 kilometers running through Afghanistan, the project will meet the country's gas needs, generating around $450 million in annual transit fees, before continuing on to Quetta and Multan in Pakistan and Fazilka in India. Gas-rich Turkmenistan currently exports natural gas to China and Russia but once completed, the TAPI project will enable the country to diversify its export routes and help realize far-reaching plans to transport its gas across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Europe. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund stated that the commencement of work on the TAPI project on Afghan soil would strengthen relations between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, whilst speaking from Ashgabat via videoconferencing, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, announced, "The commencement of the TAPI project [on the Afghan territory] and other projects is beneficial not only for Afghanistan but also for the countries in the region." In addition to TAPI, the ceremony opened a 177-meter-long railway bridge at the Turkmen-Afghan border on Serhetabat-Turgundi railroad, launched the construction of the Serhetabat-Herat (Afghanistan) fiber-optic communication line, a warehouse complex in the dry port of the Turgundi railway station at the Turkmen-Afghan border, and the Turgundi-Sanabar section of the Turgundi-Herat railway. The event also marked the commission of the Nur-el-Jahad power plant in Afghanistan's Herat province, as part of the first phase of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) power transmission line project.

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Russia to Join Central Asia’s Unified Energy System

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev has announced that the Russian and Uzbek energy ministries have agreed to connect the Russian “System Operator” to Central Asia's Unified Energy System (UES). The connection itself is expected to happen soon. Uzbekistan's Minister for Energy, Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov, has commented that this move will ensure the security and stability of the energy system in the region. These measures are expected to allow prompt response to problems in energy supply and avoid interruptions. In addition, Inter RAO has announced that it is preparing to export electricity to Uzbekistan, with the start of supplies scheduled for this fall. Central Asia's Unified Energy System was created in the 1970s. It is managed by the coordination and dispatch center in Tashkent, and allows the balancing of seasonal fluctuations in demand for electricity and water needs during the irrigation period. It currently includes Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In May it became official that Tajikistan would join the system.

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Latvia Coaches Central Asia on Borders While Hardening Russia Frontier

Last month, Central Asian border and law enforcement authorities on a training visit to Latvia got a look at the Baltic state’s border with Russia, which the Latvian government is fortifying because of tension over the Ukraine war. Officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan met in the Latvian capital of Riga on August 27-29 to talk about how to secure their own borders and work together on trade corridors. The trip ended with a visit to Latvia’s 330-kilometer border to the east with Russia, where “conference participants got acquainted with the infrastructure, equipment and specifics of the border surveillance,” said an EU-backed agency that promotes Central Asian border security and is known by the acronym BOMCA. Unlike the Central Asian countries, Latvia is a NATO member that has provided military aid to Ukraine and considers Russia and Russian ally Belarus, with which it also shares a border (160 kilometers), to be adversaries. Latvia is preparing strongholds, anti-tank ditches and ammunition depots along its border with both countries. The border buildup of Latvia, which was invaded by both Soviet and German forces during World War II before eventual Soviet occupation, differs from the experience of Central Asia’s former Soviet republics, which were formed in the 1920s and 1930s. Of those Central Asian countries, only Kazakhstan shares a border (at about 7,600 kilometers) to the north with Russia, which has longstanding security and trade relations with the region despite the often harsh legacy of Soviet rule. Still, Latvia’s role as a leader of the 20-year-old European Union program to help Central Asia develop and integrate its border management systems comes at a fraught time for the Baltic country as it hardens its borders with Russia and Belarus. The Central Asian officials who inspected Latvia’s border with Russia last month also toured the Border Guard College of Latvia in the eastern town of Rēzekne, whose landmarks include an arch of the ruins of a castle that was mostly destroyed during fighting centuries ago. A Russian military drone entered Latvian airspace from Belarus and fell in the Rēzekne region on Saturday, according to Latvian defense officials. Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said that air defense and electronic warfare development will “allow us to limit the operation of drones of various uses." Latvia has also grappled with illegal crossings by migrants coming from Belarus, which has denied Western accusations that it facilitated border breaches in order to put pressure on the European Union. The EU-backed border training for Central Asia started long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and is designed to help Central Asian countries with their own challenges, which include drug smuggling and human trafficking. There are historical border disputes in Central Asia, but some have been moving toward resolution. Currently, Latvia and neighboring Lithuania are hosting several months of training for Central Asian handlers of K9s, dogs that search for illegal drugs and explosives. Latvia, in turn, is getting its own help from allies. Earlier this year, the United...

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New U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Outlines Priorities For Cooperation

At her first press briefing in Ashgabat, the new U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Elizabeth Rood, outlined key areas of cooperation between the two countries. She paid particular attention to economic development and investment attraction. Rood emphasized that the U.S. Embassy intends to actively engage with Turkmenistan's government, private sector, and educational institutions to create new jobs and employment opportunities and diversify the national economy. Rood also emphasized four critical areas of work: combating climate change, economic sector development, security issues, and promoting fundamental freedoms. Regarding climate challenges, Rood emphasized Turkmenistan's role in mitigating climate change and welcomed President Serdar Berdymukhamedov's pledge to limit methane emissions. Ambassador Rood also emphasized the importance of supporting civil society in Turkmenistan, including upholding fundamental freedoms and combating forced and child labor. In addition, she expressed her intention to strengthen ties between the peoples of the two countries, noting her inspiration from the determination of Turkmen youth to learn exact sciences and the English language.