Turkmenistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ahmet Gurbanov, met with the European Union’s Special Representative for Central Asia, Eduard Stiprais, during the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3) in Avaza on August 7. The two sides discussed key areas of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the EU in the political, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian spheres, according to the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting emphasized the importance of maintaining high-level contacts to promote partnership in both bilateral and multilateral formats. They reviewed the outcomes of the first “Central Asia-EU” Summit held in April 2025 and discussed the implementation of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, which includes the development of energy and transport corridors, as well as digitalization.

The participants highlighted the effectiveness of mechanisms like the Joint Committee “Turkmenistan-EU” and the Parliamentary Dialogue in fostering collaboration. The EU delegation expressed gratitude for the high-level organization of the conference and the hospitality extended by the Turkmen side.

During the conference, Eduard Stiprais noted that the European Union had developed a clear strategy to support developing landlocked countries, focusing on financing, infrastructure, and trade integration.