European Union – Turkmenistan: developing an agenda for resilience and prosperity
In 2021, Turkmenistan celebrates 30 years since the declaration of independence. In 2020, Turkmenistan marked 25 years since the Declaration of Neutrality – status in international affairs that became one of the foundations of country statehood. These are significant milestones for any country. Since the moment Turkmenistan was established as an independent nation, the EU has supported its sovereignty and independence and respected its foreign policy choices. On Turkmenistan’s initiative, the UN proclaimed 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust, an important reminder to us all in these turbulent times.
Lying at the geographic crossroads - bordering the Caspian sea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Afghanistan, Turkmenistan has a strong potential, but also significant challenges. Turkmenistan’s status of permanent neutrality has contributed to its role in promoting regional stability. Since independence, Turkmenistan has played a constructive role in the region, acting as a bridge between Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus and the Middle East and as a good neighbour even in difficult situations to Afghanistan.
From my perspective, as the EU Special Representative for Central Asia with a regional mandate, Turkmenistan is an important partner in promoting regional cooperation and integration. I commend President Berdimuhamedov’s initiative to host the Consultative Summit of the Central Asian Heads of State in Avaza in August 2021 and an ambitious agenda laid out by the Heads of State for the region at the Summit. The Joint Statement calling for strengthened regional cooperation in trade and transport, economic development, climate change, water and energy, science, culture and tourism highlights areas where there are many common points with the EU – Central Asia Strategy “The EU and Central Asia: New Opportunities for a Stronger Partnership” adopted in 2019. This is the main document that guides EU’s engagement with the region.
By implementing the EU – Central Asia Strategy and the EU Connectivity Strategy together, the EU wants to be a reliable partner for the Central Asia partners in the process of modernisation and development. Over the past years, the EU and the Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, have expanded and deepened the partnership and the level of engagement to the mutual benefit. In the current global and regional environment, the EU- Central Asia Strategy and its main priorities – resilience, prosperity, and regional cooperation – remain as relevant as ever including in addressing the crisis in Afghanistan and developing the response to the global COVID – 19 crisis and in building back better.
In these unpredictable times, the EU is strongly committed to stable, resilient, and prosperous Central Asia through effective multilateralism – an approach that Turkmenistan also adopted through its active engagement with the UN putting forward numerous initiatives. The most recent is the proclamation by the UN of the year 2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust on behest of Turkmenistan. The UN Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA) has been present in Ashgabat since 2007 in order to promote regional dialogue and conflict prevention. The EU also supports this approach through the High – Level Political and Security Dialogue.
European Union – Turkmenistan relations: developing an agenda for resilience and prosperity.
Relations between the European Union and Turkmenistan are governed by an Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters, which entered into force in August 2010. This agreement and other joint documents such as The Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of energy, established a number of dialogue platforms between the two partners on issues such as trade, human rights and energy and environment. In 2019, the EU opened a fully-fledged Delegation signalling a mutual strategic interest to intensify relations. The EU is looking to increase its dialogue and cooperation with Turkmenistan, and hopes to strengthen its institutional framework of cooperation with the ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The entry into force of the PCA would allow for enhanced discussion and cooperation in all sectors. I am happy to note that despite the disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic dialogues with Turkmenistan continued.
In addition to regular dialogue platforms, the EU has implemented projects in Turkmenistan in the field of education, rural development and support to small and medium size enterprises. In response to the COVID 19 crisis, the EU provides support through the project “Central Asia COVID-19 Crisis Response Regional Programme” to mitigate current outbreak of the pandemic and contribute towards longer-term resilience of the national health systems. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge that requires close collaboration between governments and international organisations. Turkmenistan also participates in a range of regional programmes on health, energy, sustainable development, security and drugs. The new programming cycle 2021-2027 opens a door for new and enhanced cooperation. As an Upper Middle Country, Turkmenistan will benefit from a bilateral cooperation programme in the 2021 – 2027 period, centered on a Cooperation Facility aimed at enhancing the EU – Turkmenistan Partnership, and from regional programmes, for examples, in the areas of health and vocational and educational training.
The EU stands ready to support the government of Turkmenistan in the process of designing necessary reforms and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. For example, improving business environment, a transparent legal framework are important components of the post COVID -19 economic recovery. We see a concrete co-relation between rule of law and respect for human rights and resilience and prosperity societies, including ability to deal with internal and external shocks, disruptions caused by crises such as COVID-19 pandemic. Gender equality and empowering youth will remain high on the EU agenda. In our efforts to build back better, we should not forget about the role of women in the society, as they have been hit particularly hard by the consequences of the pandemic. The EU will support partner countries on the path towards achieving gender equality, in line with the 3rd EU Gender Action Plan and the 2nd National Action Plan for Gender Equality in Turkmenistan.
Current issues: working globally and regionally for local prosperity.
Global challenges such as tackling climate change or regional challenges such as the crisis in Afghanistan require a coordinated approach and cooperation. The crisis in Afghanistan is high on the agenda of both the EU and Turkmenistan. As an immediate neighbour, Turkmenistan’s long-term support to the peaceful settlement, economic and connectivity projects, and humanitarian engagement as well as promotion of the effective involvement of the international community in this regard make Turkmenistan a valuable partner for the international community in the stabilisation efforts in Afghanistan. Turkmenistan’s focus on political, economic and socio-humanitarian areas in support of peace-building in Afghanistan can be shared by many. In this context, one can note the implementation of trans-regional infrastructure, such as the construction of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan power and fiber optic lines, as well as the“Lapis Lazuli” transport corridor project, connecting Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey.
At the same time, Turkmenistan’s status of permanent neutrality has contributed to its role in promoting regional stability and to tackling common threats such as terrorism, violent extremism, drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. All issues that have become even more important as the developments in Afghanistan unfold and the international community is working on an effective response. The EU stands ready to jointly work with Afghanistan’s neighbours, as Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours are essential in supporting and contributing to building a safe and stable region.
In the midst of the COVID 19 and Afghanistan crises, we should not overlook or weaken our efforts to tackle climate change. It is the defining global challenge of our generation. Many countries have already pledged to reach net-zero emissions around mid-century. We urge all our partners to formulate such long-term strategies, already before COP26. All Central Asian countries joined the Paris agreement, and 2021 is decisive in terms of Paris Agreement’s implementation. The EU encourages its Central Asian partners to present ambitious long-term strategies on its implementation. Turkmenistan’s interest in reducing Methane Gas Emissions is welcome.
The climate crisis is also a water crisis. Through water we feel climate change as in floods or extreme weather, in droughts and water scarcity, or simply through depletion of water quality, as a consequence of extreme weather events. This has enormous consequences for human and environmental health. Insufficient water cooperation entails significant costs and major risks for the future of the region. Encouraging a joint water approach can become a positive drive for regional cooperation. Turkmenistan has also been active in facilitating better management of shared water resources in the region, notably in the framework of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, which is an important mechanism to tackle this environmental disaster.
EU already supports 16 ongoing regional initiatives covering sustainable water use, energy, environment (with allocations of 100 Million Euro), in some of which Turkmenistan is also a partner. We will further integrate the link between the environment, climate and security in our policy dialogues, conflict prevention, development and humanitarian actions and disaster risk reduction strategies across Central Asia.
As all of us are still struggling with the COVID 19 crisis and its consequences, we believe that it creates an opportunity to speed up reforms and make transition to more efficient systems of governance and more sustainable economic models, to build back better and greener. EU’s Green Deal and Green post-Covid Recovery Plan are EU’s roadmap to making Europe the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050, improving the well-being of people, and protecting our natural habitat. The EU is also committed to support similar efforts of our partners building more competitive, sustainable economies and resilient societies.
The implementation of the EU Connectivity Strategy (2018 Strategy for Connecting Europa and Asia and a new policy entitled “A Globally Connected Europe” which reaffirms the strategic importance of our support to sustainable connectivity globally, I believe, is another important priority for the EU and Central Asia. As the HRVP Josep Borrell said, the roads bringing together our continents, linking Europe, Central Asia, China and beyond have enriched us culturally and technologically for centuries. The European Union itself is all about connectivity – our experience in building connections in Europe – in all meanings of this word – has resulted in the longest period of peace and integration in European history.
Among the recent initiatives one can mention a joint commitment to create a intermodal, sea/river and road/rail transport route between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, announced by the Foreign Ministers of Romania, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan, which coincides with the EU Connectivity Strategy and opens new possibilities for connectivity and interregional development.
The EU has a significant track record in the region supporting connectivity. This includes support for integrated border management trade facilitation, energy interconnections, and people-to-people contacts through initiatives like the Sustainable Energy Connectivity for Central Asia programme (SECCA), Silk Roads Heritage Corridors, the Economic Empowerment of Afghan Women project , the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA) or the Ready4Trade programme Turkmenistan is already part of a number of these projects, but there is space for a more active role.
Looking ahead, the EU intends to step up cooperation for digital connectivity. We want to intensify cooperation on water management and energy, to make sure that the cooperative management of these resources brings benefits in access to water and access to sustainable energy. All in all, the opportunities arising from increased cooperation through connectivity in the region are immense. At the same time, while we should think big, we should also get down to work as the future of the region is in the hands of its people, leaders and civil society.
Turkmenistan’s people have rich history and traditions, and its young population add strong potential. With this important anniversary in mind, I wish the people of Turkmenistan peace and prosperity.