Berdimuhamedow, who is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, highlighted the longstanding collaboration in the energy sector between the two countries, particularly the contributions of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) in Turkmenistan, which he described as a testament to the mutually beneficial relationship between the two nations.
“Petronas has been successfully operating in Turkmenistan for many years. This serves as an example of our mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.
“Turkmenistan sees great prospects for collaborative work in implementing projects in energy transfer and communications, construction, oil and gas processing, the chemical industry, innovative urban planning, tourism and several other areas,” he said.
He was speaking during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Perdana Putra Complex here.
Anwar and Berdimuhamedow also witnessed the signing of three memorandums of understanding in commerce and tourism.
The two leaders also witnessed the exchange of notes between Malaysia and Turkmenistan on partial visa abolition, air service agreements, and cooperation in training for diplomats and scientific exchange.
Berdimuhamedow said the visit had resulted in the signing of several important agreements which will pave the way for deeper collaboration across various fields.
“We highly appreciate the results of our visit to Malaysia. The agreements reached and the documents adopted will contribute to further deepening our bilateral relations, especially in trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas,” he said.
This is his inaugural visit to Malaysia since assuming office in March 2022.
Trade between Malaysia and Turkmenistan has experienced strong growth, with total trade rising from RM36.19 million in January to RM63.28 million in October – an increase of nearly 75%.
Turkmenistan was Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner among Central Asian countries in 2023 with total trade worth RM48.62 million.
Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Turkmenistan were officially established in 1992.