ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, October 17. Turkmenistan has highlighted a solid potential for further increase in trade turnover with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Trend reports via Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry.
According to the information, this became known within the framework of the visit of the delegation headed by Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov to Pakistan to participate in the meeting of the SCO Heads of Government Council.
In his statement, the Turkmen side also noted the necessity of building up direct contacts with the SCO members' business circles.
Moreover, the development of transport infrastructure, particularly the North-South transport corridor project, which links Turkmenistan with Iran and India along the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, received attention as part of the expansion of trade cooperation.
In conclusion, the Turkmen side expressed confidence that the strengthening of trade ties and implementation of joint projects would bring mutual benefits to all participants.
To note, Turkmenistan actively participates in the development of the North-South transport corridor.
Turkmenistan, together with Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iran, signed a roadmap in July 2024 to promote the eastern branch of the North-South corridor. The initiative aims to increase the capacity of the corridor to 15 million tons per year by 2027 and 20 million tons by 2030. The corridor is designed to provide efficient multimodal transport routes linking the Indian Ocean with the Caspian and Baltic Seas, significantly reducing transit costs and time compared to traditional routes.
