Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASHGABAT1349
2008-10-10 13:04:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
TURKMENISTAN: PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN'S VISIT
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001349
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD TU TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN'S VISIT
FOCUSES ON BUSINESS INVESTMENT
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia R. Curran. Reasons 1.4(b) and (
d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001349
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD TU TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN'S VISIT
FOCUSES ON BUSINESS INVESTMENT
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia R. Curran. Reasons 1.4(b) and (
d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
accompanied by a large delegation, paid a short official
visit to Ashgabat last week that focused on business
investment in Turkmenistan. During the trip, he met with
President Berdimuhamedov, Turkmen officials and Turkish
citizens residing in Ashgabat. The Turkish businessmen
lamented the business and investment situation in the
country. Turkey would like to invest much more vigorously in
Turkmenistan, particularly in the energy sector, but says it
is hampered by legal and bureaucratic constraints. END
SUMMARY.
2. (C) Turkey's Prime Minister visited Ashgabat for 24 hours
on October 3-4. His trip was originally to include a second
leg, to Mongolia, but was curtailed after an attack by PKK
forces on Turkish troops on October 4. During a subsequent
meeting with emboff, Turkish diplomat Hakan Chengiz (please
protect) said that in his meeting with President
Berdimuhamedov PM Erdogan emphasized Turkey's desire to
invest more in Turkmenistan, particularly in the energy
sector.
3. (C) PM Erdogan was accompanied on his visit by a large
delegation that included Minister of Energy Hilmi Guler, the
state ministers for religious affairs and Turkish citizens
abroad, as well as the head of TIKA, the Turkish foreign
assistance agency. The PM's "tete-a-tete" session with
Berdimuhamedov on October 3 was attended only by the two
leaders, Energy Minister Guler, and Turkmenistan FM Meredov.
That evening, the PM and a few members of his delegation
attended a "very small working dinner" with their Turkmen
counterparts, which he described as "nothing like the lavish
affair (earlier this week) for the Latvian president," The
working dinner was followed by a meeting between the PM and a
group of Turkish businessmen living and working in Ashgabat.
4. (C) After learning of the attack on October 4, the PM
reportedly held a meeting with the four ministers
accompanying him and decided to return to Ankara, with a few
delegation members continuing on to Mongolia. He was able to
complete all of the events scheduled in Ashgabat before he
departed, including a Bayram (Eid el-Fitr) celebration with
local Turkish citizens.
TURKISH BUSINESS COMPLAINTS
5. (C) Chengiz said that the Turkish businessmen told PM
Erdogan during their meeting with him that the inflation rate
and the recent changes to the manat-dollar exchange rate have
affected them very negatively. The investment and business
climate in Turkmenistan cannot improve, they said, until the
government of Turkmenistan institutes legal and bureaucratic
reforms that will make doing business simpler and less risky.
6. (C) By all accounts, most of the businessmen who do
operate in Turkmenistan have been in the country for more
than a decade and have grown accustomed to the everyday
difficulties of doing business here. Many more Turkish
entrepreneurs would like to open businesses but are put off
by a number of factors, including difficulties in obtaining
or prolonging visas (which in turn prevents them from
purchasing or renting housing),traffic police that unfairly
target yellow-plated vehicles (which indicate a foreign
business registration),and workplace liability laws that
make engineers and managers personally liable for workplace
accidents. (Chengiz said that two Turkish engineers were
recently jailed in Ashgabat following construction accidents.
Both have since been released).
7. (C) Chengiz noted that there are approximately 6000
Turkish citizens living and working in Turkmenistan, compared
to the roughly 25,000 who were here at the beginning of the
ASHGABAT 00001349 002 OF 002
decade. Thousands departed, he said, after several Turkish
nationals were implicated in the assassination attempt
against late President Niyazov in 2002.
8. (C) COMMENT: Turkey is one of Turkmenistan's main trading
partners and their companies dominate the construction
business here. PM Erdogan's visit, with its obvious focus on
business opportunities in the country, is a clear indication
that Turkey would like to do much more, including invest in
Turkmenistan's energy sector. END COMMENT.
CURRAN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD TU TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN'S VISIT
FOCUSES ON BUSINESS INVESTMENT
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia R. Curran. Reasons 1.4(b) and (
d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
accompanied by a large delegation, paid a short official
visit to Ashgabat last week that focused on business
investment in Turkmenistan. During the trip, he met with
President Berdimuhamedov, Turkmen officials and Turkish
citizens residing in Ashgabat. The Turkish businessmen
lamented the business and investment situation in the
country. Turkey would like to invest much more vigorously in
Turkmenistan, particularly in the energy sector, but says it
is hampered by legal and bureaucratic constraints. END
SUMMARY.
2. (C) Turkey's Prime Minister visited Ashgabat for 24 hours
on October 3-4. His trip was originally to include a second
leg, to Mongolia, but was curtailed after an attack by PKK
forces on Turkish troops on October 4. During a subsequent
meeting with emboff, Turkish diplomat Hakan Chengiz (please
protect) said that in his meeting with President
Berdimuhamedov PM Erdogan emphasized Turkey's desire to
invest more in Turkmenistan, particularly in the energy
sector.
3. (C) PM Erdogan was accompanied on his visit by a large
delegation that included Minister of Energy Hilmi Guler, the
state ministers for religious affairs and Turkish citizens
abroad, as well as the head of TIKA, the Turkish foreign
assistance agency. The PM's "tete-a-tete" session with
Berdimuhamedov on October 3 was attended only by the two
leaders, Energy Minister Guler, and Turkmenistan FM Meredov.
That evening, the PM and a few members of his delegation
attended a "very small working dinner" with their Turkmen
counterparts, which he described as "nothing like the lavish
affair (earlier this week) for the Latvian president," The
working dinner was followed by a meeting between the PM and a
group of Turkish businessmen living and working in Ashgabat.
4. (C) After learning of the attack on October 4, the PM
reportedly held a meeting with the four ministers
accompanying him and decided to return to Ankara, with a few
delegation members continuing on to Mongolia. He was able to
complete all of the events scheduled in Ashgabat before he
departed, including a Bayram (Eid el-Fitr) celebration with
local Turkish citizens.
TURKISH BUSINESS COMPLAINTS
5. (C) Chengiz said that the Turkish businessmen told PM
Erdogan during their meeting with him that the inflation rate
and the recent changes to the manat-dollar exchange rate have
affected them very negatively. The investment and business
climate in Turkmenistan cannot improve, they said, until the
government of Turkmenistan institutes legal and bureaucratic
reforms that will make doing business simpler and less risky.
6. (C) By all accounts, most of the businessmen who do
operate in Turkmenistan have been in the country for more
than a decade and have grown accustomed to the everyday
difficulties of doing business here. Many more Turkish
entrepreneurs would like to open businesses but are put off
by a number of factors, including difficulties in obtaining
or prolonging visas (which in turn prevents them from
purchasing or renting housing),traffic police that unfairly
target yellow-plated vehicles (which indicate a foreign
business registration),and workplace liability laws that
make engineers and managers personally liable for workplace
accidents. (Chengiz said that two Turkish engineers were
recently jailed in Ashgabat following construction accidents.
Both have since been released).
7. (C) Chengiz noted that there are approximately 6000
Turkish citizens living and working in Turkmenistan, compared
to the roughly 25,000 who were here at the beginning of the
ASHGABAT 00001349 002 OF 002
decade. Thousands departed, he said, after several Turkish
nationals were implicated in the assassination attempt
against late President Niyazov in 2002.
8. (C) COMMENT: Turkey is one of Turkmenistan's main trading
partners and their companies dominate the construction
business here. PM Erdogan's visit, with its obvious focus on
business opportunities in the country, is a clear indication
that Turkey would like to do much more, including invest in
Turkmenistan's energy sector. END COMMENT.
CURRAN