TURKMENISTAN - ITALY: PROSPECTS FOR TRADE, ECONOMIC AND INVESTMENT COOPERATION

The July 7 presentation "Investments and Business Opportunities for Cooperation with Turkmenistan for Italian Companies" was another step in the development of cooperation. A powerful pulse to relations between the two countries was given by the official visit of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the Italian Republic in November 2019, during which were discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

The visit, within the framework of the Turkmen-Italian business forum in Milan, resulted in the signing of 20 bilateral documents. The forum participants discussed the possibilities of implementing such promising joint projects as the creation of an enterprise in Turkmenistan for the production of solar panels, the production of ceramic products, the establishment of wool processing using modern technologies, etc.

Business contacts and discussions of areas of mutual interest of economic and investment cooperation were continued at the informal business forum Italy - Turkmenistan held last summer in the format of a videoconference. Its participants noted the growth of bilateral trade between Italy and Turkmenistan, confirmed by statistics published by the Italian Statistical Institute (ISTAT) and reflected in the new edition of the Italo-Turkmen Business Directory for 2020. Conditions for further stimulation of bilateral cooperation and creation of a favorable environment for investments were created by the ratification of the bilateral agreement with Turkmenistan on the promotion and protection of investments.

During a telephone conversation in September between President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, it was noted that Italy took third place in Turkmenistan's foreign trade, while bilateral trade amounted to more than one and a half billion US dollars. Italy holds the second position in the list of partners in the export of Turkmen products, and Italian companies are showing great interest in such a strategically important area as the oil and gas sector. In this regard, the activities of the Italian oil and gas company ENI, which has been cooperating with Turkmenistan since 2008, serves as a successful example for them. The company operates under a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) in the western part of Turkmenistan. Production is carried out mainly at the Burun field, the oil of which is processed at the oil refinery in Turkmenbashi, and the associated gas is used for gas lift.

In 2020, the Italian company ENI prepared an overview of oil reserves and consumption in Turkmenistan, published in the World Oil Review 2020. It noted that Turkmenistan is making large investments in the modernization and diversification of the oil and gas industry, the widespread introduction of advanced technologies that ensure deep processing of hydrocarbons, equipping enterprises with equipment and modern technology. All this makes it possible to ensure the production of high-quality petroleum products and gas-chemical products with improved environmental characteristics that meet international norms and standards, and to reduce the level of harmful emissions into the environment.

In addition to the energy sector, including the alternative, a promising area of bilateral Turkmen-Italian cooperation is the sphere of ommunications, as well as interaction in the field of digital technologies, the financial and banking system, the agro-industrial sector, light industry, transport and logistics, healthcare and education.

The recent meetings and negotiations at the highest level, business forums and contacts between the public and private sectors of the two countries lay a solid foundation for a substantive approach to realizing the enormous potential of bilateral cooperation in specific mutually beneficial projects. And the next step in promoting bilateral cooperation in this direction may be the next Italy-Turkmenistan business forum, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy plans to organize this fall.

Ogulgozel Rejepova

Turkmenistan - Italy: prospects for trade, economic and investment cooperation