Indian President Ram Nath Kovind paid a visit to Turkmenistan over the weekend and is expected to return to India on Monday. Kovind, who is the first Indian head of state to visit the Central Asian country, met with newly elected Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov on Saturday and discussed strengthening bilateral and economic ties.
India and Turkmenistan share historical and civilizational linkages. India considers Turkmenistan as part of its extended neighbourhood. We were one of the first countries to recognize Turkmenistan’s independence in 1991 and establish formal diplomatic relations in 1992. pic.twitter.com/GTj9Bc0vJQ
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 2, 2022
Meeting with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov
President Kovind met with his Turkmen counterpart at the Oguzhan Presidential palace in Ashgabat and called his visit special because it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties between the two countries. A statement released by the President’s Secretariat said that both leaders “agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen India-Turkmenistan’s multifaceted partnership.”
President Ram Nath Kovind was received by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan and accorded a ceremonial guard of honour on his arrival at the Ashgabat airport. pic.twitter.com/lJsYcb8SWt
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 1, 2022
The pair talked about improving bilateral, economic, security, and political ties, which was later discussed in detail by their respective delegations. Moreover, Kovind congratulated Serdar on his recent victory in the presidential election and “expressed confidence that Turkmenistan would continue to scale new heights” under his leadership. He also invited Serdar to visit India in the near future.
Economic Ties
Noting that bilateral trade between New Delhi and Ashgabat “continues to be modest,” Kovind stressed that there is a lot of “untapped potential” for “enhancing and diversifying” economic ties. He called on the business communities of both countries to “work together” on this front. “They should engage in more frequent and sector-specific interactions with each other to clarify business rules and regulations, document requirements, payment mechanisms, etc,” Kovind said.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India’s total trade with Turkmenistan from 2019 to 2020 stood at $29.97 million, of which India exported $26.40 million worth of goods and services, and imported more than $3 million. Major Indian exports to Turkmenistan include electronic material, apparel, pharmaceuticals, and frozen meat while Indian imports comprised fertiliser materials, cotton, and inorganic chemicals.
He also said that it is important that India and Turkmenistan pro-actively cooperate under the aegis of the India-Central Asia Business Council, established in 2020, to facilitate bilateral and regional trade. “It is important for our apex Chambers to pro-actively participate in this forum and provide suggestions for taking economic cooperation forward.”
4 MoUs were signed on disaster management, culture and arts, youth affairs and financial services between India and Turkmenistan in presence of Hon’ble Presidents of both countries on April 2, 2022 during the state visit of Rashtrapatiji to Turkmenistan. @rashtrapatibhvn pic.twitter.com/rv9oIHzRdi
— IndiainTurkmenistan (@IndiainTurkmen1) April 3, 2022
Kovind also announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India’s Financial Intelligence Unit and the Turkmenistan’s Financial Monitoring Service to “strengthen the framework of economic cooperation.”
With regards to connectivity, both sides agreed to synchronise the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport to ensure the seamless movement of goods. The INSTC is a 7,200-kilometre-long multi-modal transport network for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe, while the Ashgabat Agreement is a transport agreement signed by India, Oman, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan for the creation of a transit corridor.
Furthermore, Kovind indicated the possibility of using the India-built Chabahar port in Iran to facilitate trade between India and Turkmenistan. He also noted that there is great potential for India to take part in Turkmenistan’s energy sector. “The technical and technological capabilities of Indian companies in the downstream field could be utilised in further development of Petro-chemical sector of Turkmenistan,” he emphasised.
Afghanistan
Kovind also discussed the situation in Afghanistan in detail during his visit and said that “India stands for peace and stability as well as [an] inclusive government in Afghanistan.” Saying that instability in Afghanistan “is a threat to the whole region,” he called for greater security cooperation between India and Turkmenistan to prevent the spread of radicalisation in the region.
“As immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, our countries are naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions,” Kovind said. In this regard, he called on the Afghan government to take steps to form a truly inclusive government, combat terrorism and drug trafficking, and preserve the rights of women children, and other minorities.
Other fields of cooperation:
Kovind also stressed that both countries should cooperate in the fields of digitalisation, disaster management, and COVID-19. In adition, he welcomed Turkmenistan’s support for India in regional and multilateral fora.
President Ram Nath Kovind attended a cultural programme at Magtymguly National Musical Drama Theatre at Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. pic.twitter.com/tgFcUA9Yib
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 3, 2022
“I thanked Turkmenistan for its support to India’s permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council as well as for India’s initiatives as a non-permanent member of UNSC for the period of 2021-22,” he said.
India values the support of Turkmenistan for our permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. pic.twitter.com/1h23F1dGA8
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 3, 2022
Importance of Central Asia:
The Indian President stressed that maintaining ties with Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries has been one of the “focus areas of Indian foreign policy in the last few years.” Noting that India and Central Asia face “common challenges” such as terrorism, extremism, radicalisation, and drug trafficking, Kovind said that India and Central Asia should strengthen “strategic relations.”
In January, India hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit, which was held virtually and attended by leaders of all Central Asian states. As part of the Summit, all sides signed the Delhi Declaration, which aims to enhance ties in the economic, diplomatic, security, political, environmental, and cultural sectors.