TURKMEN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ATTRACTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001196 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB; NEA/IR COMMERCE FOR EHOUSE E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2019 TAGS: PGOV ECON ECPS EIND EINV TINT TX SUBJECT: TURKMEN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ATTRACTS U.S.INTEREST REF: A. ASHGABAT 1145 ¶B. ASHGABAT 1116 Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On September 16, Turkmen government officials opened the third annual Turkmentel 2009 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Exhibition and Forum in Ashgabat. The Turkmen press touted the event as a large scale international forum initiated by Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov, who recently repeated his goal of ensuring that all Turkmen citizens would have access to the Internet. About 60 foreign companies from 20 countries participated in the exhibition including companies from Russia, Turkey, the U.K., Cyprus, UAE, Austria, China, Belarus, Georgia, Lithuania, the USA, and Iran. Although no U.S. company had its own booth, Cisco, IBM, and Qualcomm sponsored the event, and there were some representatives of other U.S. ICT companies seeking opportunities to enter the Turkmen ICT market. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Every state-sponsored exhibition and forum in Turkmenistan begins with a welcome message by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, which at this event was read by Turkmen Deputy Chairman for Transport and Communications Nazarguly Shagulyev. In his message, the Turkmen President repeated his goal of ensuring that every Turkmen citizen have access to the Internet, acknowledging that this goal would only be achieved through state-of-the-art technology (ref B). He stressed the importance of achieving this goal as soon as possible, and that the GOTX (via the Ministry of Transport and Communications) has developed a timeline and mechanism for achieving it. He noted that provincial telecommunications companies have made tremendous progress in training ICT professionals in order to ensure that Turkmen citizens have access to high-quality ICT equipment in the nearest future. ¶3. (C) To date, the average Turkmen only has access to dial-up Internet provided by the state-owned phone company. More affluent subscribers can receive Internet access via mobile phone programs offered by the Russian giant MTC, but mobile phone Internet access is cost prohibitive for most users. On the margins of Turkmentel 2009, Economic Officer visited with representatives of a handful of U.S. companies. These representatives all agreed that there is a growing ICT market in Turkmenistan. During the exhibition, it was noticeable that many of the foreign companies present offered U.S.-made products, including high-tech 3M wiring systems, IBM and HP software, Motorola telephones, and Cisco products. ¶4. (C) In a meeting with the Charge on September 15, an American ICT consultant discussed the possibility of partnering with the Turkmen to build an ICT assembly plant. The consultant could not release the name of the company or the products the company planned to assemble, but she reported positive feedback from Minister of Transport and Communications Owlyaguly Jumagulyev on her proposal. She told the Charge that the company she represented wanted an assembly plant in Central Asia, and they were strongly considering Turkmenistan as its Central Asian hub. (COMMENT: Although the consultant seemed enthusiastic, it is unclear why a large, U.S.-based, technology company would consider opening an assembly plant in Turkmenistan, when business conditions for such a venture would seem to offer greater potential for success in a larger, more open market such as Russia and Kazakhstan. END COMMENT.). ¶5. (C) U.S. satellite dealer Sintel also expressed interest in the Turkmen market. The company head noted that the Turkmen president recently announced plans for a national ASHGABAT 00001196 002 OF 002 telecommunications satellite (ref A). The Sintel representative is now seeking a meeting with the Ministry of Transport and Communications to discuss U.S. satellites and services. The Head of the U.S.-based Black Sea Telecommunications company also discussed plans to provide Turkmenistan with WIMAX Internet capability, as it has already done in Azerbaijan and Georgia. In addition, this company is seeking opportunities to provide cable television services, claiming over 300,000 subscribers in the former Soviet Union. ¶6. (C) COMMENT. The increased interest of U.S. companies in the Turkmen communications sector was encouraging. As many of the U.S. representatives noted, however, the difficult visa regime and the almost impossible task of getting a meeting with government officials speak volumes about the current Turkmen investment climate. At the same time, if more U.S. companies are willing to devote the time and effort needed to make a breakthrough, there are numerous business opportunities in Turkmenistan's growing ICT sector. Exhibition attendees told us that the unexpected presence of U.S. companies at the event not only provided Turkmentel with more credibility, but it made Russian, Turkish, and European companies like Siemens more than a little nervous. END COMMENT. CURRAN