On July 8, Ashgabat hosted the 9th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Following the meeting, the parties signed the relevant protocol, discussed expanding cooperation in trade, energy, transport, industry, agriculture, environmental protection and finance, and agreed to accelerate the establishment of the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan Business Council. During the visit, Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov was also received by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who emphasized the steady development of bilateral partnership and reaffirmed Ashgabat's readiness to further expand economic cooperation.
The meeting in Ashgabat became a direct continuation of the agreements reached during President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov's state visit to Azerbaijan on June 22-23. During the visit, Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a Joint Statement, while the governments of the two countries concluded a package of agreements covering energy, industry, transport, maritime shipping, investment and customs cooperation. A separate symbol of this new stage of engagement was Azerbaijan's transfer of the Dostlug oil tanker to Turkmenistan, highlighting the two countries' intention to expand cooperation not only at the political level but also through practical collaboration in Caspian logistics and energy.
Following the talks in Baku, the two presidents also stressed the need to intensify the work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, viewing it as the main mechanism for implementing the agreements reached. Against this backdrop, the latest meeting in Ashgabat can be regarded as the first practical step toward translating the political decisions made in June into interagency coordination and concrete joint projects.
Against this backdrop, economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan has demonstrated steady positive momentum in recent years. Bilateral trade approached $303 million in 2024, while Azerbaijani exports to Turkmenistan exceeded $80 million. The upward trend continued in 2025: trade turnover reached $140.2 million in the first half of the year, including $30.3 million in Azerbaijani exports and $109.8 million in imports from Turkmenistan. By the end of July, total trade had increased to approximately $154 million.
At the same time, the bilateral agenda has long extended beyond trade. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have been steadily expanding cooperation in transport, transit, energy, industrial cooperation and Caspian maritime shipping. Energy collaboration, including the development of the Dostlug field, continues to play an important role. Maritime logistics cooperation has also gained additional momentum following President Serdar Berdimuhamedov's state visit to Baku.
As a result, bilateral economic relations are gradually evolving into a more comprehensive partnership encompassing not only trade but also joint infrastructure, energy and logistics projects. This trend largely explains the growing attention both countries are paying to building mechanisms for long-term economic cooperation.
The latest meeting marked the first practical stage following the high-level agreements reached in June. While the state visit defined the strategic directions of cooperation, the parties are now moving toward establishing mechanisms for their implementation. The signed protocol, the decision to develop the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan Business Council and the involvement of relevant ministries and agencies create an institutional framework for supporting joint projects, transforming political agreements into a permanent format of economic cooperation.
The intensification of bilateral economic cooperation also coincides with what Trend previously described as the beginning of Turkmenistan's new investment cycle. In recent months, the country launched the fourth phase of development of the Galkynysh gas field, signed a new production sharing agreement with PETRONAS for offshore Blocks 19 and 20 in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, expanded its petrochemical industry, continued developing transport infrastructure and steadily advanced new export routes. At the same time, Turkmenistan is implementing its 2026-2028 State Program for Socio-Economic Development and Investments, which envisages large-scale modernization of industry, logistics and the manufacturing sector.
Under these conditions, demand is growing not only for financing new projects but also for partners capable of participating in their implementation. This largely explains why Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan relations are evolving from discussions of individual initiatives toward building sustainable mechanisms for economic cooperation. For Azerbaijani businesses, this creates an opportunity to enter projects at a stage when investment activity in Turkmenistan is only beginning to accelerate, while for Ashgabat it offers access to additional expertise, technologies and logistics capabilities needed to implement its national development agenda.
For this reason, the current intensification of cooperation should be viewed as part of a broader process. As investment activity in Turkmenistan gathers pace, relations between the two countries are gradually evolving from trade and individual joint initiatives toward a more comprehensive economic partnership based on long-term business cooperation, investment and the joint development of regional logistics.
