Turkmenistan is seeking accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In joining the WTO, the country is pursuing two goals. The first is to facilitate Turkmenistan’s economic integration into global structures by gaining access to the preferential treatment guaranteed to WTO members by international organisations. The second is to develop competitive sectors in the Turkmen economy. Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves and wants not only to export its raw materials, but also to process them. Its application to join the WTO is partly based on the desire to further develop its natural gas sector by becoming integrated into international structures. Through the skills they learn, Turkmen PG alumni can make an important contribution to helping their country integrate into global economic structures.
Successful development of expertise for cooperation with German companies: Partnering in Business with Germany (PG) in Turkmenistan
Almost 50 former PG participants from the agricultural, textile, healthcare, logistics and transport sectors took part in the networking event in Ashgabat on 30 April.
The networking event was designed to enable different cohorts of PG participants to exchange with one another. Thanks to the skills they acquire in the programme, PG alumni can play a key role in strengthening Turkmenistan’s entry into the international economic arena. They also see themselves as builders of bridges between the two countries. Maksat Sahedov from automotive supplier Awtoyoly HJ was impressed by the networking character of the event: “What was most important to me at this event was the opportunity to get to know other alumni and to be a part of the international network of Partnering in Business with Germany.”
Michael Gottbehüt, who is responsible for PG country liaison work at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Galina Romanova, Head of Department at the Turkmen Ministry of Finance and Economy, and Dirk Jakobi, Chargé d’Affaires at the German Embassy in Ashgabat, outlined in their speeches what the programme in Turkmenistan can achieve: the aim is to find long-term, reliable business partners and to diversify German suppliers of equipment, technologies and products. In 2023, bilateral trade amounted to €220 million. The German economy can also benefit from Turkmenistan’s demand for green technology in the medium term, e.g. in the area of methane reduction or photovoltaics.
The success story of Ayna Soyunova shows just how much a company can benefit from the German foreign trade promotion programme. Soyunova is Head of the Scientific Metrology Department at the State Etalon Center. While participating in PG in 2019, she was able to establish contacts with PTB, Germany’s National Metrology Institute, during her stay in Germany. This led to close and successful cooperation, which also resulted in Turkmenistan being integrated into PTB’s regional project promoting the development of quality infrastructures in the countries of Central Asia.
The authorised representative of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce for Central Asia was also impressed by the impact of PG as a foreign trade promotion instrument. Atamyrat Hommayev was the first representative of German business in Turkmenistan to take part in a PG event. He has offered to actively support matchmaking with local German companies in the future.
Preview picture: Rovshen Rasulov, PG participant in 2023 ©GIZ/Atageldi Ilmyradov
