Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Anne-Marie Idrac, the state secretary of foreign trade at the French Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment, on 18 March. She arrived in Ashgabat leading a high-ranking delegation. The delegation consists of a number of French companies, including Total, Vinchi, GDF Suez, Orange France telecom and some other companies.
During the meeting, views were exchanged on the current state of and prospects for Turkmen-French cooperation both at bilateral format and within the dialogue between Turkmenistan and the European Union. The sides discussed prospects for cooperation in priority areas such as fuel and energy, transport, construction, and agriculture sectors, food processing and tourism.
Anne-Marie Idrac noted that France fully supports Turkmenistan”s approach to cooperation issues, namely training of skilled staff. According to the state secretary, French companies working in Turkmenistan will pay special attention to training of local workers.
The French delegation will have meetings with Turkmen government officials, and some ministries and organizations of Turkmenistan to discuss cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, construction sphere, transport and tourism. Talks will be also held in the national parliament and foreign ministry of Turkmenistan.
