Turkmenistan at the Crossroads: Prospects and Opportunities

Modern realities and global unity are at the core of progressive politics of the President of Turkmenistan that is aimed at development of international initiatives in transport and transit infrastructure. These initiatives are meant to promote
well-balanced development of the world community. An example is the Pro- gram of the President of Turkmenistan for the Development of Transport Diplo- macy for 2022-2025, in which achievement of strategic goals in the transport sector is stated as a priority task.
Within the framework of achievement of the goals, Turkmenistan initiated multiple international events, including conferences, meetings, and forums dedi- cated to transport issues. Important final documents were approved at these meet- ings. The most important events that took place in Ashgabat and Avaza National Tourist Zone include following:
Conferences of the heads and responsible representatives of railway enter- prises fr om member countries of the Organization for Co-operation between Rail- ways (OSJD), April, 2024;
“International Transport and Transit Corridors: Interconnection and Devel- opment — 2024”, November, 2024;
“Sustainable transport — a contribution to sustainable development”, Novem- ber, 2023;

Conference at the level of Ministers of Transport of landlocked developing countries, August, 2022.
“The Great Silk Road — the path to new achievements, May, 2018; International Conference of Ministers of Transport of the States-Parties to the
Agreement on Transit and Transport Cooperation (Lapis Lazuli), November, 2018; International conference on transport and logistics dedicated to the diversifi-
cation of transport and transit cooperation in the Eurasian space, May, 2017; Global Sustainable Transport Conference, November, 2016 [4].
Role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring international cooperation for sustainable development, September, 2014;
Prospects for the development of transport and transit in the Caspian region and Central Asia, May, 2012.
Implementation of the plans provisioned in the final documents of interna- tional events held by Turkmenistan promoted development of international trans- port and transit infrastructure both in Turkmenistan itself and in the region.
Turkmenistan actively promotes its initiatives in transport at the international level. Based on its initiative, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted six resolutions on transport issues:
Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sus- tainable Development Goals, December 19, 2023;
World Sustainable Transport Day, May 16, 2023;
Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to ensure stable and reliable international transport for sustainable development during and aher the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, July 29, 2021;
Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sus- tainable Development Goals, December 20, 2017;
Towards comprehensive cooperation among all modes of transport for pro- moting sustainable multimodal transit corridors, December 22, 2015;
The role of transport and transit corridors in fostering international coopera- tion for sustainable development, December 19, 2014 [3].
Adoption of these resolutions confirms efficiency of Turkmenistan transport diplomacy as the means to establish international partnership.
Below is the discussion of the most important transport routes for interna- tional cooperation.
1.    North-South Transnational Railway: Prospects for Turkmenistan
Due to its strategic location at the intersection of two continents, Turkmeni- stan has significant potential to develop various transport modes. One of the key projects is modern railway line connecting Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. This route provides direct access from European ports on the Baltic Sea to the markets of the Persian Gulf, Middle East, as well as to the countries of the Indian Ocean region via Turkmenistan [1].

This railway route not only provides transit between the countries participat- ing in the project, but also enables regular freight transportation from China, Rus- sia, India, and Turkey. Since 2016, goods from China that were previously brought to Persian Gulf by sea has been regularly transported by China — Kazakhstan — Turkmenistan — Iran railway. This route with the length of approximately 10,000 km can be covered in 14 days, which is on the average two times faster than mari- time delivery. For example, freight delivery from Shanghai to Bandar Abbas used to take more than 30 days.
Establishment of a transport corridor from China to Europe via Iran was dis- cussed at a conference on the digital system in October, 2023. It was then that rep- resentatives of the states-parties to the agreement on establishment of a transport corridor along the route China — Kazakhstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Iran
— Turkey — Europe considered new areas of cooperation [2].
In 1998, Russia, Iran, and India signed the Agreement on the International North-South Transport Corridor that came into force in 2000. Later, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Tajikistan, and Tur- key joined the agreement. The corridor is used for transit transportation of freight received via West-East corridors. The Western branch of the corridor runs along the route Russia — Azerbaijan — Iran — India.
Since July, 2022, container trains began to run on the Eastern branch of the cor- ridor — international railway Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran-India — with subsequent maritime delivery to Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai. The total length of the corridor exceeds 8000 km. In August 2022, they started to use the corridor for freight transit in the opposite direction — India-Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakh- stan-Russia.
In 2024, Russian Railways OJSC announced a 50 % discount on ferrous metal transportation along the Eastern branch of the corridor that runs via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Russian authority set the 0.5 factor for ferrous metal transpor- tation in coaches running through Russia-Kazakhstan border stations and then via Turkmenistan through the stations of Serakhs or Akayla.
At present, there are prospects for further development of transit freight transportation to Europe via North-South Transport Corridor. This is confirmed by successful test launching of a freight train along the route Kazakhstan-Turkmeni- stan-Iran-Turkey in June, 2022. The total length of the route is 6336 km, 3185 km of which are in Kazakhstan, 700 km — in Turkmenistan, 1517 km — in Iran, and 934 km — in Turkey.
Based on these achievements, Turkmenistan offers international initiatives aimed at the maximum use of the potential of the international railway transport corridor Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran for the benefit of all countries having joined the Agreement on the International North-South Transport Corridor.

2.    Caspian corridor: Key trade route between Asia and Europe
Turkmenistan is actively promoting initiatives aimed at the establishment of transport and logistics routes in Central Asia and Caspian region to ensure access to European markets via Caspian corridor. The Caspian Sea located at the inter- section of continental routes plays a key role in connection of different regions. Caspian countries have direct access to South Asia and Asia-Pacific region in the East, the Black and Mediterranean Seas in the West, Middle East in the South via Iran, as well as the Baltic Sea in the North via Russia [6].
At the sixth Caspian summit in Ashgabat on June 29, 2022, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow highlighted, “I think it would not be an exaggeration to call the Caspian Sea a sea of opportunities as a hub of transport and transit flows in Eurasia along East-West and North-South lines” [5].
Caspian corridor has vast potential as it is the shortest and the most compet- itive trade route between Asian and European markets. Although maritime trans- portation tends to be cheaper, railway transport via Caspian corridor significantly speeds up freight delivery from Europe to China and vice versa.
According to Bloomberg, maritime delivery of containers from China to Europe takes approximately 40 days while overland transportation through Central Asia, Caspian Sea, and Southern Caucasus takes about 15 days. This enables member countries of the multimodal transport corridor China — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Azerbaijan — Georgia — Turkey — Europe (CASCA+) to signifi- cantly speed up freight flows and reduce goods delivery time.
Within the framework of CASCA+ project, transit of freight containers from Izmir (Turkey) to Osh (Kyrgyzstan) was performed in May, 2021, and freight transit along the route Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Azerbaijan — Georgia — Bulgaria was performed in December, 2022.
On November 14, 2023, Turkmenistan joined the Main Multilateral Agreement on international transport to develop Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor (TRACECA) that was passed in Baku in 1988. The goal of the agreement is to develop economic relations, trade, and transport communications in the region, as well as to promote international freight transportation.
In November 2023, a meeting of the heads of railway departments of CASCA+ member countries took place in Ashgabat, wh ere several documents were signed.
Besides, international multimodal transport and transit corridors Afghanistan
— Turkmenistan — Azerbaijan — Georgia — Turkey and Turkmenistan — Azerbaijan
— Georgia — Romania provide direct access to several European countries.
Shorter route reduces the cost of products for consumers and activates coop- eration between trading enterprises and manufacturers.
Strategic location of Turkmenistan at the intersection of the continents and well-developed economic centers provides vast opportunities for development of all transport modes and expansion of foreign trade relations. In turn, this is an efficient tool to strengthen international cooperation in the area of transport diplomacy.