The Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan (OGT) 2021 International Investment Forum kicked off on Wednesday at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Ashgabat.
The OGT 2021 is organized by the Türkmengaz (Turkmen Gas) and Türkmennebit (Turkmen Oil) state concerns, Türkmengeologiýa (Turkmen Geology) State Corporation, and the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan in partnership with the Turkmen Forum and the UK-based GaffneyCline.
This year, the international forum gathered 490 delegates from 42 countries. Due to international travel restrictions, the event is also held in an online format.
The message of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the participants of the investment forum was presented by the wise-premier Shahym Abdrahmanov before the start of the plenary session.
“I congratulate on the start of the International Forum on attracting foreign investments to the oil and gas complex of Turkmenistan,” President Berdimuhamedov said in his address and noted the importance of the forum in the successful solution of many tasks of the oil and gas complex of the country.
The Forum provides the platform to discuss global trends in the development of the fuel and energy sector and the implementation of regional projects in this area, including the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
The plenary session was moderated by Christine Weigand, the UN Resident Cordinator a.i. for Turkmenistan.
During the session, the Minister Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Muhammetgeldi Serdarov gave an information about Turkmenistan’s investment policy, noting that in some years, the level of investment has reached 45-48% of GDP, which allowed to create a stable, sustainable and developing economy of Turkmenistan.
He added that the growth rate of the gross domestic product of Turkmenistan in 2024-2025 is expected at more than 8% through the introduction of innovative technologies into production and the construction of large industrial facilities.
In turn, the CEO of SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, Rovnag Abdullayev said Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have achieved great success in all areas of the oil and gas business.
“We are ready to share with the companies of brotherly Turkmenistan the vast possibilities of the pipeline systems of the Southern Gas Corridor and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline for transporting the richest Turkmen resources to international markets,” Rovnag Abdullayev said in his speech.
A signing of number of contracts and MoUs are planned at the end of the Forum.