Turkmenistan, Central Asian Countries Keen To Engage With ASEAN– Wisma Putra

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Turkmenistan, along with other Central Asian countries, have expressed a keen interest in engaging with ASEAN.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry, also known as Wisma Putra, said the message was conveyed to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan during his meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, Rashid Meredov, who is also vice president, at Turkmenistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday.

Malaysia will assume the ASEAN chair in 2025. 

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Wisma Putra said both foreign ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral relations between their two countries in a wide area of cooperation, including trade and investment, the halal industry, education, tourism, culture, and capacity-building. 

The ministers recognised the significant role and contributions of Petronas to the economic transformation of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas sector, since it started its operations in 1996.

“They discussed regional and global issues of common concern such as the situation in Gaza, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the developments in Afghanistan,” it said. 

Meanwhile, Mohamad via Facebook also shared about his meeting with Meredov.

"We discussed ways to enhance the relations between our two countries in various fields, especially trade, investment, education, tourism, agriculture, halal products and technical cooperation assistance."

According to him, Turkmenistan was Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner in Central Asia in 2023.

He added that Turkmenistan greatly appreciates its friendship with Malaysia and would like to strengthen their relations with the planned visit of Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Malaysia in December.

Mohamad is on an official visit to Turkmenistan from Sept 9 to 10 to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Malaysia and Turkmenistan.

-- BERNAMA