The visit took place as part of an agreement signed by the speakers of the upper houses of the Russian and Turkmen parliaments.
A delegation of the Federation Council made a visit to Turkmenistan. The delegation included Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev (head of the delegation) and member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Alexander Bashkin. The visit took place as part of the Agreement on Establishing Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federation Council of Russia and the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan, signed by the speakers of the upper houses of the two parliaments in November 2022.
Konstantin Kosachev held a meeting with Chair of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
According to Konstantin Kosachev, the parties exchanged opinions on parliamentary cooperation and determined areas of work for the Inter-Parliamentary Commission. They extensively discussed the prospects of developing Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s initiative with respect to building multilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation between five Central Asian countries and Russia. The first meeting, in a format defined by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko as an “Ashgabat format,” took place in the capital of Turkmenistan in May 2022. The next meeting is expected before the end of 2023.
Konstantin Kosachev noted that, during his meeting with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, they also discussed the Train of Memory project. “The Chair of the upper house of the Turkmen parliament supported the idea of Turkmen school students participating in the project.”
The delegation also held consultations with Rashid Meredov, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan and Co-Chair of the Russia-Turkmenistan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, to discuss establishing a Turkmen-Russian university in Ashgabat and the construction of education and cultural facilities.
Turkmenistan is one of Russia’s strategic partners in Central Asia, Konstantin Kosachev pointed out in his conversation with journalists.
“The links between our parliaments are on the rise. Chair of the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is set on putting his best efforts forward to promote Russia-Turkmenistan relations using the tools of parliamentary diplomacy,” Konstantin Kosachev said.
“During this visit, we made a significant step forward in developing bilateral relations between the two parliaments,” Konstantin Kosachev concluded.
He also reported that the first meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federation Council of Russia and the Halk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan will take place in April 2023 in Moscow and Astrakhan. The second meeting is expected in September in Turkmenistan.