On 7 November, the 24th meeting of the Turkmenistan-EU Joint Committee was held in Ashgabat. The Turkmen delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy Babaniyaz Yalakov, and the European delegation by Audrone Perkauskiene, Deputy Managing Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service. This was reported by the press service of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Turkmenistan.

The meeting was attended by representatives of relevant Turkmen ministries and agencies, as well as officials from EU departments responsible for trade, transport, energy, the ‘green’ economy, education and humanitarian projects.

The participants discussed the macroeconomic situation, trade development, Turkmenistan's accession to the WTO, modernisation of transport infrastructure, digitalisation, energy cooperation, environmental protection and humanitarian initiatives. Separate consideration was given to issues of regional cooperation in the ‘Central Asia-EU’ format.

Particular attention was paid to transport connectivity and the introduction of e-CMR electronic consignment notes as part of the ‘EU Global Gateway’ initiative, the development of digital solutions and logistics corridors. In the energy sector, the diversification of supply routes, renewable energy, energy-efficient technologies and environmental projects were discussed.

In the humanitarian sphere, education, academic exchanges and the annual Human Rights Dialogue were touched upon.

Following the meeting, the parties confirmed their readiness to continue joint projects, including the development of a bilateral ‘Turkmenistan-EU’ Roadmap and the holding of sectoral forums.