A large online meeting today linked Vienna and Ashgabat via video telephony. The event was organized by the Embassy of Turkmenistan in the Republic of Austria and the Austrian-Turkmen Society, inviting the diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to Austria to participate.
The meeting dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s independence and the International Year of Peace and Trust brought together not only diplomats, but also representatives of business circles of Turkmenistan, Austria and Germany.
Thus, the traditional Ashgabat-Vienna bilateral dialogue this time expanded its scope to the Eurasian format.And its professional composition testifies to the fact that diplomats are interested in the success of the business of their countries, as well as vice versa.
The solemn part of the event started with greetings from the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Austria Silapberdy Nurberdyev and Ambassador of Austria to Turkmenistan Alexander Bayerl.
After a short video clip about Turkmenistan, the meeting was moderated by the head of the Austrian-Turkmen Society, Neda Bergher. She introduced the Society’s board members from among the heads of large Austrian companies to the meeting participants.
It was also announced that Batyr Taganov, director of TMT Consulting Group, and director of Ojar Aziya Mukhammet Odzharov, were admitted to the board of the Society. Ms. Bergher also introduced another new board member and honorary advisor for media and culture in Turkmenistan, Bekdurdy Amanzaryev to the audience.
In the business part of the meeting, businessmen spoke about the profile of their companies and discussed promising cooperation projects in various fields.Austrian business circles were represented by the heads of DiproMed and Sigmapharm (pharmaceuticals), already well-known in Turkmenistan, Waagner Biro and Zeman Beteiligungs (construction), as well as Gebrüder Weiss GmbH East (logistics and transport).
They discussed both the supply of products and the transfer of technologies, as well as the creation of joint ventures and enterprises.
The heads of the German companies Gesscon, Techcon, Almatrix, who are interested in the Turkmen market, proposed to consider their projects in agriculture, textile industry and other areas.
European business representatives generally noted that promoting their positions in the Central Asian region and specifically in Turkmenistan is an important element of strategies to expand the geographical coverage of partnerships.