BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26. June 24 saw the 14th
meeting of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan Intergovernmental Commission
on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation take
place in Astana. During the meeting, the parties discussed
prospects for cooperation in trade, transport, logistics, industry,
energy and investment. Following the talks, Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan reaffirmed their interest in further increasing
bilateral trade, developing transport and transit cooperation, and
expanding business ties between enterprises of the two countries,
identifying a number of areas for deepening economic
partnership.


The economic dimension was one of the central themes of the
meeting for a reason. As participants noted, trade turnover between
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan has doubled over the past five years.
However, these figures reflect a broader process. In recent months,
Turkmenistan has effectively entered a new investment cycle: in
April, the country launched the fourth phase of development of the
Galkynysh gas field together with China's state-owned energy
company CNPC, and in June signed a new production sharing agreement
with Malaysia’s PETRONAS on Caspian oil projects. The
implementation of these initiatives is expected to attract
investment, expand production activity, and generate additional
demand for goods, services and logistics solutions. As a result,
the additional financial flows could create a multiplier effect for
both local companies and foreign businesses operating in the
country.


As Trend previously noted in its article “Inside Turkmenistan’s
investment cycle: How Turkish contractors anchor a new phase of
economic expansion,” China, the United States, Türkiye and
several European countries have in recent months demonstrated
growing interest in expanding cooperation with Turkmenistan.
Kazakhstan is acting within the same trend, seeking to strengthen
the position of its businesses in a market that could receive an
additional boost in the coming years from large-scale energy,
infrastructure and industrial projects. This largely explains the
increased attention paid by the two sides to trade and economic
cooperation during the intergovernmental commission meeting.


Transport, in turn, occupies a special place in relations
between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In a joint statement issued by
Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Serdar Berdimuhamedov in
October 2022, the parties confirmed their intention to develop the
China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran transport corridor, as well as
the Uzen-Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek-Gorgan railway route, describing
it as one of the priority directions for cargo transit through the
territories of the two countries.


In the years that followed, the transport agenda gained
additional momentum. Kazakhstan has consistently advocated the
expansion of international transport routes using Caspian
infrastructure, while President Tokayev previously emphasized that
the development of port infrastructure in Turkmenistan and Iran
could significantly expand the export geography of regional
countries and strengthen their logistics capabilities.


A similar approach can be observed in Ashgabat. In September
last year, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov described the further
development of the North-South and East-West transport corridors as
one of the country's priority tasks, stressing the need to make
fuller use of Turkmenistan’s international transport and transit
potential. At the same time, international organizations also view
Turkmenistan as one of the key elements of Eurasia’s transport
architecture. In particular, the Economic Cooperation Organization
has announced plans for further integration of transit routes
passing through the country into broader regional transport
networks.


Against this backdrop, discussions on transport and logistics
cooperation during the intergovernmental commission meeting appear
to be a logical continuation of the policies that Astana and
Ashgabat have pursued consistently in recent years. Amid growing
uncertainty surrounding traditional routes through the Middle East,
transport links between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are becoming
increasingly important, transforming from a tool of bilateral trade
into an element of a broader regional logistics strategy.







One of the most illustrative examples is Belarus, which launched
an accelerated container rail service to Iran late last year via
the Belarus-Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran route. The new
service, organized by Beltamozhservice, provides cargo delivery
within 13–15 days and is aimed at expanding trade between
Belarusian producers and markets in the Middle East and Asia.


At the same time, this route is not an isolated project.
Earlier, shipments of Belarusian potash fertilizers were organized
through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan toward Iran and onward to China
via the eastern branch of the International North-South Transport
Corridor (INSTC). According to the Transport and Logistics Center
of Turkmenistan, the cargo moved through Belarus, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran before being shipped by sea to
Asian ports.


Such experience is particularly relevant amid ongoing
uncertainty surrounding traditional southern routes. The conflict
involving Iran has already demonstrated the vulnerability of
logistics chains dependent on a limited number of transit
corridors. This is especially important for Turkmenistan, as Iran
remains one of its largest trading partners and a key gateway to
the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.


Under these circumstances, the importance of alternative and
duplicate routes capable of ensuring supply-chain resilience in the
event of external disruptions is increasing. This is why the
Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran corridor and the transport routes
passing through Turkmenistan are increasingly viewed not only as
instruments for expanding trade but also as elements of regional
logistics security.


In this context, the 14th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan
Intergovernmental Commission appears to be more than just another
bilateral gathering; it reflects broader processes unfolding across
the region. On the one hand, Kazakhstan is seeking to strengthen
the position of its businesses in the Turkmen market at a time when
Turkmenistan is entering a new investment cycle linked to major
projects in energy, industry and infrastructure. On the other hand,
both countries are interested in developing transport corridors
whose importance has increased significantly amid changes in
regional logistics and the growing need to ensure the resilience of
trade routes. The combination of these factors largely explains the
attention paid by both sides to business and logistics issues
during the talks in Astana and allows their cooperation to be
viewed as part of a broader process of building new economic
connections across Eurasia.