At the end of December, leaders of Russia and Turkmenistan met to discuss the future of their relationship. First, on December 22, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met in Ashgabat and signed an agreement to expand bilateral “strategic” energy cooperation. Then the heads of Gazprom and Turkmengaz signed an agreement on the resumption of Turkmen gas supplies to Russia with the start of 2010, amounting to 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually.
These new agreements of cooperation and commerce are in the context of an improving world economy and rising demand for natural gas in Europe. It is also in the context of Turkmenistan’s growing diversification of gas buyers. According to the Jamestown Foundation, this January 5th, the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, traveled to Turkmenistan to inaugurate a bilateral gas pipeline project, the 182 kilometer line from Dauletaban-Khangeran. During their bilateral talks, both sides pledged to raise the annual trade turnover to $10 billion, up from $3 billion in 2009.
Iran and Turkmenistan have taken advantage of their extensive border and dictatorial governing styles by instituting a series of strategic projects. For example, the Tejen-Sarahs-Mashhad railway line is operating between the two countries, as is the Dostluk water reservoir in the border area. On December 9 the two governments also inaugurated a jointly built gas storage and transportation terminal at Gylanly on Turkmenistan’s Caspian coast. (via Vladimir Socor with the Jamestown Foundation)
