In a historic move, Israel opened its first-ever embassy in Turkmenistan on Thursday, 17 kilometers from the Iranian border, as part of its push to strengthen its ties in the area of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia.
“It is symbolic that now, after 30 years of deepening our relations… I am here to inaugurate the permanent Embassy of Israel in Turkmenistan,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said.
Upon his arrival in Ashgabat, the capital, on Wednesday night, he wrote on Twitter: “I came to open an Israeli Embassy 17 km. from the border with Iran… The relationship with Turkmenistan is of great security and political importance, and this visit will strengthen the position of the State of Israel in the region.”
First Israeli FM to visit Turkmenistan since 1994
Cohen is the first Israeli foreign minister to visit Turkmenistan since Shimon Peres in 1994, one year after Israel and Turkmenistan established diplomatic relations.
On his way to Turkmenistan, Cohen visited Azerbaijan, another country that borders Iran. Both nations are on the Caspian Sea.
Turkmenistan’s trade with Iran is relatively small, and the two countries had disputes about potentially large hydrocarbon deposits in the Caspian Sea.
Turkmenistan’s volume of trade with Israel is about $8 million. The gas-rich desert nation of six million has an official neutrality policy, avoiding membership in any political or military blocs. Its main economic partner is China, which buys the bulk of its gas exports.
During his trip, Cohen spoke of Turkmenistan as an “energy powerhouse.”
“We look forward to a new era in our close relations,” he said.
At the inauguration of the embassy, Cohen said his visit was “aimed at promoting the friendly ties between Israel and Turkmenistan and deepening cooperation in fields such as agriculture, water management, economy and energy cooperation, border protection and regional security, cyber technology and education.”
Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Raşit Meredow said the embassy’s opening was historic and underlined the importance of increasing political and diplomatic interactions and strengthening economic ties.
“We will do everything to implement the proposals and suggestions” raised in the meetings, he said.
Cohen met with President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who was born in Ashgabat in 1981 when the country was still a Soviet socialist republic. He is the son of a former president, and he became president in 2022 after serving in other official positions.