KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 – Turkmenistan, along with other Central Asian countries, have expressed a keen interest in engaging with ASEAN.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry, also known as Wisma Putra, said the message was conveyed to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan during his meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, Rashid Meredov, who is also vice president, at Turkmenistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday.
Malaysia will assume the ASEAN chair in 2025.
Wisma Putra said both foreign ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral relations between their two countries in a wide area of cooperation, including trade and investment, the halal industry, education, tourism, culture, and capacity-building.
The ministers recognised the significant role and contributions of Petronas to the economic transformation of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas sector, since it started its operations in 1996.
“They discussed regional and global issues of common concern such as the situation in Gaza, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the developments in Afghanistan,” it said.
Turkmenistan was Malaysia’s fourth largest trading partner in Central Asia in 2023.
Mohamad is on an official visit to Turkmenistan from Sept 9 to 10 to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Malaysia and Turkmenistan.
