BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 24. June 22-23 President
of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov paid a state visit to
Azerbaijan, during which he held talks with President Ilham Aliyev
in Baku, visited the cities of Fuzuli and Shusha, and took part in
a ceremony for the exchange of signed bilateral documents.
Following the visit, the sides signed a number of agreements in the
fields of transport, maritime shipping, industry, investment, and
other areas, and also confirmed interest in further expanding
cooperation in energy, logistics, and the production sector. As
part of the visit, Azerbaijan also handed over an oil tanker to
Turkmenistan, which became an additional element of expanding
cooperation in maritime transport in the Caspian Sea.
The list of signed documents reflects not new priorities of
Turkmenistan, but the next stage of a policy that the country has
been pursuing for several years. During this period, Ashgabat has
actively developed the oil and gas sector, modernized transport
infrastructure, and expanded production capacities in industry. As
many of these projects approach completion, the focus is
increasingly shifting toward their integration into international
economic relations.
This is why energy, logistics, and industrial cooperation were
at the center of talks between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan - areas in which Baku can act not only as a partner
for Ashgabat, but also as an important link connecting it with
broader regional and global markets.
Energy sector
Energy was one of the key areas of negotiations for a reason. In
recent months, Turkmenistan has been consistently expanding both
its energy production capacity and its potential export
capabilities. On April 17, the country launched the fourth phase of
development of the giant Galkynysh gas field in cooperation with
China’s state energy company CNPC.
At the same time, the Caspian oil segment is also developing.
The state concern “Hazarnebit” and Malaysia’s PETRONAS have signed
a production sharing agreement on offshore blocks in the Turkmen
sector of the Caspian Sea, including Blocks 19 and 20, where
hydrocarbon resources are being developed on the shelf. This
strengthens the importance of the oil segment of the Caspian in the
structure of future exports and directly increases the role of
maritime logistics.
Against this background, the expansion of Caspian transport
infrastructure also appears logical, including the transfer by
Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan of an oil tanker that can be used for
maritime transportation of hydrocarbons between the two shores of
the sea. This opens additional opportunities for increasing
offshore oil production.
At the same time, Turkmen authorities are increasingly openly
discussing new export directions. In April, answering a question
from Trend, Batyr Muradov,
editor-in-chief of the Türkmen Dünýäsi newspaper, stated that
Turkmenistan is considering gas supplies to Europe via Azerbaijan.
Later, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov also confirmed the country’s
interest in developing energy cooperation with European partners.
These statements fit into a broader strategy of diversifying export
routes for Turkmen energy resources. Trend previously covered these
processes in its article “Eurasia’s gas balance: How
Galkynysh could reshape supply routes.”
Another important factor is Iran’s position. In an interview
with Trend, Saeid Tavakkoli,
Deputy Oil Minister of Iran and head of the National Iranian Gas
Company, stated that Tehran is ready to ensure the transit of
Turkmen gas through its territory to third countries. The swap
mechanism for Turkmen gas supplies to Azerbaijan via Iran has
already been implemented, where gas is delivered to northern
regions of Iran and equivalent volumes are transferred to
Azerbaijan. According to Tavakkoli, the development of gas
transportation infrastructure could significantly increase the
scale of such operations in the future.
In a broader context, this approach is also confirmed by
Turkmenistan’s efforts to build a multi-vector export model. In
particular, during contacts with the British business community in
London in February, Turkmenistan expressed readiness to expand
energy cooperation with the United Kingdom, including discussions
on alternative gas supply routes and long-term contracts.
Thus, the energy agenda of the talks in Baku reflects a systemic
process: Turkmenistan is simultaneously increasing production,
developing Caspian oil resources, and forming new export routes,
where Azerbaijan acts as a key transit link.
Transport sector
The transport sector has become one of the key pillars shaping
Turkmenistan’s domestic and foreign economic policy. In recent
years, the country has been strengthening its institutional and
infrastructure base in logistics.
As part of this policy, the Ministry of Automobile Roads was
established in February on the basis of a former state agency,
marking a step toward centralizing road infrastructure management.
At the same time, large-scale transport network modernization
projects are being implemented. The key project is the
Ashgabat-Turkmenabat high-speed highway, which is being
commissioned in stages: the Ashgabat-Tejen section was opened in
2021, the Ashgabat-Mary section in 2024, and the final
Mary-Turkmenabat segment was inaugurated on April 10, 2026, with
the participation of the President.
A separate role is played by the development of maritime
logistics in the Caspian Sea. In 2018, the Balkan Shipbuilding and
Ship Repair Plant in Turkmenbashi was commissioned, becoming the
core base for the country’s shipbuilding capacity.
On this basis, in May 2026, the new cargo vessel “Gadamly,”
built with the participation of South Korean partners, was
commissioned. The ship was officially put into service on May 9,
2026, during a ceremony attended by the President of Turkmenistan.
It is designed for dry cargo and container transportation and will
operate on Caspian routes, strengthening the country’s regional
logistics capabilities.
Another vessel, “Menzil,” has already been announced, indicating
a systematic approach to expanding the national merchant fleet.
Trend previously covered these developments in its article
“Baku-Turkmenbashi:
Turkmenistan’s new vessel boosts stability of Trans-Caspian
shipping.”
These steps show that Turkmenistan’s transport policy is aimed
not only at improving internal connectivity but also at
strengthening its role as a Caspian transit hub. In this context,
cooperation with Azerbaijan becomes highly practical, as Caspian
logistics forms a key link between Central Asia and international
transport corridors. Trend previously highlighted this in the
article “Turkmenistan pushes
West via Georgia - with Azerbaijan as linchpin.”
Industrial sector
Turkmenistan’s industrial policy in recent years has been
shifting toward deeper processing of natural resources and the
development of export-oriented industries, particularly in the
chemical and petrochemical sectors.
In this context, cooperation with international industrial
companies plays a key role. In an exclusive interview to Trend, Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries noted the significant potential of Turkmenistan’s
chemical and petrochemical sectors, emphasizing that the
development of gas processing could become one of the drivers of
the country’s industrial growth. The company also cooperates with
“Turkmenhimiya” under projects for ammonia and carbamide
production, reflecting sustained interest in long-term industrial
cooperation.
Thus, the industrial sector forms a second pillar of
Turkmenistan’s economic transformation - alongside energy and
transport - creating an internal base for expanding exports of
finished products. In this context, industrial development is
directly linked to the need for reliable logistics routes, where
Azerbaijan acts as a key transit link.
At the same time, Turkmenistan is strengthening its orientation
toward European markets as one of the main external vectors of
industrial exports. In this context, contacts with European
partners, including discussions on expanding textile exports via
Germany and Slovakia, reflect the country’s efforts to integrate
into more diversified logistics chains with access to the EU. These
steps complement a broader strategy to create a “European window”
for non-resource exports, where industrial goods are considered a
key component of the future export structure. Trend previously
analyzed these processes in the article “EU-Asia co-op: Slovakia and
Turkmenistan set transcontinental connectivity.”
Overall, the visit of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to
Azerbaijan and the documents signed during it reflect not an
expansion of the current agenda, but a shift to a more practical
stage of cooperation in energy, transport, and industry.
Turkmenistan is strengthening its production and processing
capacities, developing Caspian projects, and signaling interest in
diversifying export routes, including the European direction via
Azerbaijan. At the same time, a transport base for expanding
transit is being formed, along with an industrial policy focused on
deeper processing and export of finished goods.
In this context, Azerbaijan acts as a key partner ensuring the
linkage of energy, transport, and industrial flows.
