16th meeting of the Joint Committee under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Turkmenistan

The European Union and Turkmenistan held their sixteenth Joint Committee meeting on 10 November 2016 in Brussels. The Joint Committee reviewed the progress made in the last year between the EU and Turkmenistan, in particular in terms of trade, economic development and bilateral cooperation, and reaffirmed the commitment of both parties to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas.

Both parties discussed the macroeconomic situation, bilateral trade and the ongoing reforms in Turkmenistan. Recent political and key governance developments in Turkmenistan were reviewed, including the recent constitutional reform, the creation of an Ombudsman and the adoption of the National Human Rights Action Plan.

The meeting also assessed the progress and developments under the main EU development cooperation projects in the judicial sector and the rule of law, in sustainable energy, water and environment, as well as in border management and fight against drug trafficking. The EU informed that three new bilateral projects have just started in the areas of secondary and vocational training, public administration reform and agro-food processing and marketing for an overall amount of €12 million.

The parties also highlighted the importance of the common work undertaken in the frame of the Ashgabat Declaration on energy and the continuation of efforts in the Working Group established for its implementation.

The meeting was chaired by Mr Luc Devigne, Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE countries in the European External Action Service, as the head of the EU delegation. The delegation of Turkmenistan was led by Mr Muhammetguly Muhammedov, Minister of Finance of Turkmenistan.