BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 19. On June 17, the first meeting of the Turkmen-Slovak Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation was held in Ashgabat under the co-chairmanship of Hojamyrat Geldymyradov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, and Vladimír Šimoňák, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. During the meeting, the sides discussed prospects for expanding cooperation in trade and economic relations, energy, industry, construction, transport and communications, information technologies, agriculture, ecology, healthcare, education, culture, sports, and tourism. The participants confirmed their mutual interest in further strengthening bilateral ties, developing contacts between business communities, and using the newly established commission as a permanent mechanism for promoting joint projects and new areas of economic cooperation.
The holding of the first meeting of the commission was not unexpected. In recent months, Ashgabat has consistently expanded its contacts with the European Union and individual European countries, designating the development of relations with the EU as one of the priorities of its foreign policy for 2026. Since the beginning of the year, a series of meetings has taken place involving high-level representatives of EU institutions and member states.
In February alone, more than ten joint events were held, including a meeting between representatives of Central Asian countries and Germany within the Z5+1 format in Berlin, a joint briefing between Turkmenistan and the European Union held in Ashgabat on February 17, as well as talks between Turkmen diplomats and European officials in Brussels, during which the commitment to further expanding cooperation with the EU was emphasized.
Later, this course was further reinforced at the first European Union-Central Asia Economic Forum held on March 26, as well as through meetings between representatives of European financial institutions and the Turkmen side dedicated to investment, transport connectivity, and the expansion of trade and economic ties. Trend covered these developments in more detail in its previous article titled “Bridging East and West: EU eyes Turkmen transit.”
Against this backdrop, as well as amid ongoing volatility in global markets and growing uncertainty in international trade, diversification of export revenue sources and expansion of sales geography beyond traditional markets are becoming particularly important for Turkmenistan. This position is also aligned with the World Bank’s forecast published in its June edition of the Global Economic Prospects report, which states that “for commodity exporters, building fiscal resilience will also require strong institutional frameworks and revenue diversification.”
In this context, Slovakia is seen not only as an independent market but also as a potential gateway to the broader European Union market. For Turkmen producers, working through the Slovak channel may provide an opportunity to test demand for their products, receive feedback from European consumers and businesses regarding how well Turkmen goods meet their needs, adapt products to EU requirements, and gradually prepare for expanding their presence in other European markets.
However, interest in expanding cooperation is not limited to Turkmenistan alone. For European countries, including Slovakia, the Turkmen market is of interest against the backdrop of relatively positive macroeconomic dynamics. According to official data, Turkmenistan’s GDP grew by 6.3% in January-May 2026, while foreign trade turnover increased by 8% compared to the same period of the previous year.
At the same time, Turkmenistan’s significance for Bratislava extends beyond strictly bilateral relations. Slovakia has been simultaneously expanding its engagement with other countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. In May, Slovak State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy Vladimír Šimoňák visited Georgia, where an economic cooperation agreement was signed providing for the establishment of a joint intergovernmental commission.
At the same time, Slovak-Azerbaijani dialogue has also been developing: during the latest round of political consultations on June 12, the sides discussed expanding cooperation in the fields of economy, transport, and energy. Notably, the State Secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marek Eštok, later stated: “We are preparing further high-level visits; doors are fully opened to expanding cooperation in transport, business, smart solutions, energy, culture, and education.”
Looking at these processes as a whole, it can be observed that Slovakia’s interest is not directed at individual countries in the region separately, but rather at a broader space shaped by emerging transcontinental transport routes. Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan today effectively form a single geoeconomic corridor linking the Black Sea with Central Asia via the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.
Trend previously highlighted this in its article “Turkmenistan pushes West via Georgia - with Azerbaijan as linchpin.” The publication noted that, with the participation of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan, a vast space stretching from the Black Sea to the Pamir mountains could be integrated, with the three states - situated at the intersection of European and Asian economic systems - potentially acting as a transport and financial hub between them.
From this perspective, Slovakia’s simultaneous engagement with Tbilisi, Baku, and now Ashgabat does not appear as a set of isolated bilateral initiatives. All three countries lie along routes connecting Western Europe with East Asia. Notably, over the past two months, Bratislava has been steadily expanding its interaction with each of these states, which may indicate growing attention to routes and markets forming along the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route).
Overall, the first meeting of the Turkmen-Slovak Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation should not be viewed solely through the prism of bilateral Ashgabat-Bratislava relations. It fits into a broader context of gradually expanding economic interaction between Europe and Central Asian countries, where interest is increasing in routes passing through Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan and connecting European space with Asian markets.
At the same time, it is important to note that Vladimír Šimoňák, who headed the Slovak delegation, has extensive experience in European affairs, including his tenure at the Slovak Ministry of Interior, where he headed the Department of Foreign and European Affairs, as well as his work at the Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU in Brussels, where he served as head of the Department of Internal Affairs from 2015 to 2021.
Such a background underscores that engagement with Turkmenistan is part of Slovakia’s more systematic approach to economic diplomacy across both European and Eurasian directions.
For Turkmenistan, participation in such formats opens an additional opportunity to promote its products to the European market through individual national gateways, including the Slovak one. At the same time, as Turkmenistan’s production and export potential develops, the emergence of new such “entry points” into the European economy can be expected, gradually expanding the geography of its external economic relations.
