Today we see Austrian companies as reliable and promising partners. They are distinguished by high professionalism, responsibility, understanding of mutual benefit and the value of cooperation with Turkmenistan, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov at a joint business event at the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria on Tuesday, March 12.

The Deputy Prime Minister led the Turkmen delegation during a visit to Vienna, during which an exchange of views was organized in a round table format with influential persons in Austrian business circles. The new meeting was a continuation of contacts established during several Austrian business missions to Ashgabat to identify cross-interests.

Before the start of the current discussions with an emphasis on moving to a practical level of interaction, a meeting was held between the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the healthcare system of Turkmenistan with the Vice-President of the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria Philipp Gadi in a limited format. Then other members of the Turkmen delegation and representatives of dozens of Austrian companies joined the dialogue.

The introductory part provided a comprehensive description of the economic potential of Turkmenistan, illustrated by such macro indicators as stable GDP growth, which in 2023 amounted to 6.3%, which means about 61 billion US dollars.

For those interested in industry dynamics, the following figures were given: industrial complex + 4.3%, construction + 2%, transport and communications sector + 8.4%, trade + 12.8%, agriculture + 4.4%, service sector + 5.1%. Overall production output + 7.8%.

The foreign trade turnover of Turkmenistan at the end of 2023 amounted to about 21 billion US dollars. At the same time, exports prevail over imports by 1.7 times – their volume is 11.4 billion US dollars.

The attention of Austrian partners was drawn to the fact that Turkmenistan, while increasing the share of processing industry products in exports, continues the policy of diversifying energy exports. In 2023, Turkmen natural gas was supplied to China, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. The geography of exports of petroleum products, electricity and mineral fertilizers is expanding.

Revenues from hydrocarbon exports allow the country to actively invest in the development of industries with high added value. Investments in the economy at the end of 2023 amounted to more than 11 billion US dollars, which is 7.8% higher than in 2022.

By improving the investment climate and business environment, Turkmenistan is creating conditions for attracting foreign investment in the form of direct financial investments in manufacturing enterprises. In recent years, a number of such investment projects have been implemented in the gas chemical sector. These are new plants for the production of ammonia, urea, polypropylene, polyethylene, and synthetic gasoline.

As for Austrian business, among the promising areas of cooperation, such industries as energy, transport, agriculture, digitalization, green economy and others were highlighted.

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber coordinates the activities and represents the interests of the Austrian business community at the national and international levels. It brings together the chambers of nine federal states and 110 trade associations representing the country's industries. Membership of the chamber is mandatory for Austrian companies, so it includes all active companies in the country: about 430,000 companies in a wide range of business sectors.