The first meeting of the joint Turkmen-German working group took place in Ashgabat on 26 May. The working group issued a communique on the result of the meeting.

As was reported earlier, a delegation of German businessmen headed by the Director of the Department of Foreign Economic Policy, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technologies of Germany Karl-Ernst arrived in Turkmenistan to participate in the business forum. The Turkmen delegation comprising heads of the ministries and agencies was headed by deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.

During the talks the sides exchanged views on the current status and prospects for development of mutually beneficial cooperation as well as the implementation of the agreements reached earlier. Noting the mutual interest in boosting the long-standing cooperation, the sides noted the importance of finding new forms and mechanisms of interaction, the most effective of which were regular business forums and presentations of German companies similar to the one held by well-known Siemens company in Ashgabat two weeks ago.

The fuel and energy complex, agriculture and water management, industry, construction, banking, transport and telecommunications, high technology, as well as education, science, health and tourism were identified as main areas of cooperation. In this context, the importance of a comprehensive master plan for the development of leading sectors of the Turkmen economy which was developed by well-known consulting company Goetzpartners on the order of the Government of Turkmenistan.

Major German companies whose representatives were part of the German delegation expressed their desire to expand their business in the Turkmen market and actively participate in a number of specific projects. In particular, under the memorandum on the long-term cooperation signed between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Energy Concern RWE AG, the parties plan to sign a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), according to which the company will be carrying out exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the 23rd license block on the Turkmen shelf of the Caspian Sea.

A more detailed discussion of these and other issues continued during the bilateral talks in the ministries and departments of the country.

The second meeting of the Turkmen-German working group will be held in the capital of Germany, Berlin, in June 2010, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) said.