German-Turkmen relations

German-Turkmen relations

Germany	Turkmenistan

Among the German-Turkmen relations refers to the bilateral ties and agreements between the Federal Republic of Germany and Turkmenistan .

politics

The first political rapprochement between the two countries began after the independence of Turkmenistan from the Soviet Union on October 27, 1991. Germany achieved this by establishing diplomatic ties with the then Turkmen government. The German government succeeded in signing the following agreements with Turkmenistan. On the one hand, the double taxation agreement from the Soviet era (1981) is still valid, which regulates that companies that trade between Germany and Turkmenistan do not have to pay double taxes. This promotes bilateral trade between the two countries. Furthermore, the investment protection and promotion agreement was made in 1997, which came into force in 2001. It protects foreign direct investors when they invest in the respective economy, which is particularly important for German companies, as they have a great interest in Turkmenistan's, in some cases, still untapped potential. The foreign policy of the Turkmens is based on the principle of perpetual neutrality , which means that a country may not start or wage war unless it acts for self-defense. This special position of Turkmenistan is reflected in its dealings with its trading partners. In 2008, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow visited Germany and reported on the positive cooperation with German companies and expressed optimistic thoughts with regard to the further economic and political development of the relationship. The main focus here is on exploiting the unused potential of Turkmenistan in the energy sector and in research / further development. Further goals to expand the economic relations between the two nations in the future were expressed during the visit of the former Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Ashgabat in 2011. In addition, the planned Nabucco pipeline and the human rights situation in Turkmenistan, which are still heavily criticized today, were discussed.

German-Turkmen Forum eV

In 2008 the German-Turkmen Forum Association was founded. Representatives from the political, economic and public sectors come together here. You want to develop and promote intercultural relations between the two countries. Any interested person is free to participate in this association and to become a member, and contacts on a cultural, political and economic level are established and maintained. In particular, the focus is on the promotion of workshops , seminars and official events as well as general cooperation between Turkmen and Germans. This makes the association one of the most important organizations for mediating between cultures.

economy

Turkmenistan has countless trade relationships with partners from all over the world. Germany is one of these, and it plays a particularly important role within the EU . Since 2001 there have been meetings once a year at which representatives of the two countries exchange information on current events in the region and advise on how to deal with them. There is also talk of the trade relationship between the two countries and the effectiveness of the existing agreements. Bilateral trade with Turkmenistan amounted to € 414.3 million in 2014, an increase of around 4% compared to previous years. The export of German economic goods to Turkmenistan is particularly interesting, as this amounted to € 388.4 million (2013), but has fallen further and further to only € 276 million in recent years. The export consists of products such as vehicles, car parts, chemical products or pharmaceuticals from Germany, which have a particularly good reputation in Turkmenistan. Furthermore, the import of Turkmen goods such as oil , textiles or clothing is becoming more and more important and rose from € 9.7 million (2013) to over € 139 million (2014), which represents an immense multiplication. Turkmenistan owes this extreme increase to the growing problem of raw material and oil shortages. In 2018, Turkmenistan was the third largest German trading partner among the Central Asian countries after Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. However, bilateral trade has recently declined sharply and amounted to EUR 137.4 million in the period from January to November 2018 (2017: EUR 348 million).

Since Turkmenistan has extremely large oil / natural gas reserves, the country has succeeded in meeting the big nations of the world at an economic level and in some cases in negotiations on an equal footing. Since Germany is confronted with energy supply problems more and more frequently in the future, this enables the two countries to intensify their trade relations, which are still expandable. About 50 German companies such as Siemens , RWE , Deutsche Bank , Commerzbank , Daimler , Zeppelin and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen have discovered the Turkmenistan economic area with all its advantages and disadvantages . Of these, 19 have a branch in Turkmenistan, including BASF but also RWE. In 2009, RWE DEA and the Turkmen government concluded an energy partnership that guarantees RWE natural gas in large quantities. Representatives of the German economy and some German and Turkmen politicians led the meeting in 2012 to discuss their common future. Topics from the energy-environment as well as the infrastructure area were discussed. It is precisely these areas that require special attention in the future, as there an optimization of the basic framework conditions could have extremely positive effects on the entire economy in Turkmenistan.

Official business events

The German-Turkmen Government Group for Economy and Trade has been taking on important tasks since it was founded in 2008. This includes strengthening economic relations between the two countries and supporting economic projects. The German Business Day has been held in Ashgabat every year since 2011 , which is organized by the AHK Central Asia . Relations in the field of economy , trade and tourism between Turkmenistan and Germany are to be expanded. The exchange of experience and knowledge is particularly important. The German companies should be shown the economic prospects and the enormous potential of Turkmenistan.

In February 2019, a German-Turkmen entrepreneur forum took place in Berlin for the first time - organized by the Eastern Committee of the German Economy - at which approx. 130 companies from both countries participated.

tourism

A part of the economy that has not yet been developed is tourism . Turkmenistan with its fascinating nature offers many tourists exactly what they are looking for. However, very few tourists know that Turkmenistan could be an attractive travel destination. The population there accommodates tourists but also generally foreigners and tries to bring their culture closer to other people. In addition, tourism is suffering from the currently very tense security situation in the neighboring countries of Iran and Afghanistan , for which the German Foreign Office has issued travel warnings because tourists in these countries are often confronted with xenophobic terrorist attacks. The Turkmen government is still trying to get in touch with German travel agents, which is currently more than difficult. There is also the government, which is currently under criticism, which is accused of suppressing journalists, reporters and freedom of expression very strongly.

Culture

In 2002 the cultural agreement between Germany and Turkmenistan became valid. The openness of President Gurbanguly Berdimuchamedow in particular plays an important role and makes Turkmenistan accessible to cultural change and constant development. The German Academic Exchange Service ( DAAD ) and the Goethe Institute offer various scholarship programs and support programs for Germans and Turkmens . German classes in Turkmenistan are also funded and financed by the DAAD and RWE , among others . Furthermore, since 2008 manager training programs have been offered by the Society for International Training and Development, which in turn is intended to benefit bilateral economic relations between Turkmenistan and Germany. There are now 3 partner schools in Turkmenistan that belong to the organization "Schools: Partners for the Future" and contribute to intercultural exchange between the two countries. Basically, it can be said that the cultural rapprochement between Germany and Turkmenistan is developing, but there is still plenty of room for further progress.

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) organized the archeology exhibition "Margiana - A Kingdom of the Bronze Age in Turkmenistan". The exhibition was shown for 3 months from April 2018 to April 2019 at the Neues Museum in Berlin, the Archaeological Museum Hamburg and the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museum in Mannheim . In 2018, it was the most successful special exhibition in Berlin with 385,000 visitors.

literature

• Turkmenistan: 20 years of eternal neutrality - politics, society, culture. Wostok Verlag, Germany 2015, ISBN 978-3-932916-51-9

Web links

• Turkmenistan Government
• Eastern Committee of the German Economy
• Central Asia Chamber of Commerce

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Federal Foreign Office: Country Information Turkmenistan. September 2015, accessed February 1, 2016 . 
2. ↑ Federal Foreign Office: Country Information Turkmenistan. September 2015, accessed February 1, 2016 . 
3. ^ Eastern Committee of the German Economy: Country Info Turkmenistan. October 2015, accessed February 1, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Federal Foreign Office: Country Information Turkmenistan. September 2015, accessed February 1, 2016 . 
5. ^ Federal Foreign Office: Germany and Turkmenistan: Bilateral Relations. Retrieved June 28, 2020 . 
6. ^ Federal Foreign Office: Germany and Turkmenistan: Bilateral Relations. Retrieved June 28, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Museum Island: increased number of visitors . In: The daily newspaper: taz . April 10, 2019, ISSN  0931-9085 , p. 22 ( taz.de [accessed June 28, 2020]).