Calling it one of their “highest priorities,” the foreign ministries of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed a two-year cooperation program in January 2025 that will strengthen ties between the two countries.
A Turkmen delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Rashit Meredov arrived in Uzbekistan to meet with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The two sides signed the Cooperation Program between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for 2025-2026 and the Protocol on Inventory and Improvement of the Legal Framework of Bilateral Relations.
The two countries discussed the development of political and diplomatic dialogue to strengthen Turkmen-Uzbek relations and promised to cooperate jointly on peace and security initiatives through regional and multinational organizations such as the United Nations.
Minister Saidov praised the deepening of its strategic partnership with his country’s Central Asian neighbor, calling the agreements a “solid and long-term foundation.” Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan agreed to intensive bilateral exchanges set to take place at all levels in 2025.
Fields ripe for cooperation include transportation, energy, water management, culture and trade, and scientific and technological research.
Uzbek Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov has promoted plans to expand international transit routes with a focus on Turkmenistan. One such route is a Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Europe corridor that would use the Caspian Sea. The countries also reiterated support for a Shavat-Dashoguz cross-border free trade zone.
Turkmenistan holds some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, estimated at around 15 trillion cubic meters, and Turkmen gas exports to Uzbekistan could help alleviate the country’s reliance on other producers.
Sources: Caspian News, Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs