Page 60 - BNE_magazine_12_2019 dec19

60 I Eurasia bne December 2019
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was in Milan to woo foreign investors as he needs to diversify the economy.
CONFERENCE CALL: President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hits the road to woo investors
Mark van Loon in Milan
The President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was in Italy for an Italian – Turkmenistan business forum that took place in Milan on October 7, organised by the Italian Trade Agency and the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Representatives of Turkmen industry, including oil & gas, agriculture and chemicals, held presentations and met with their Italian counterparts.
Turkmenistan doesn't get out of the house much and that shows in its trade profile. Last year the trade turnover between the two countries totalled €78m growing
to €96m the first half of 2019, making Italy Turkmenistan’s 14 largest trading partner. This compares to the €166m
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trade turnover with Germany (7), €407m for Russia (3) and €7.2bn with China (1).
However, there is some confusion over just what the trade numbers are as these numbers are according to Italian sources, whereas the Turkmen State Statistics Committee puts the turnover significantly higher: Turkmen-Italian trade turnover was €2bn in 2018 according to the official Turkmen numbers, making Italy the country’s second most important trade partner after China. But perhaps this was just for the occasion.
Assuming the Italian statistics are correct, this is quite a low figure given the presence of a number of Italian large
and mid-sized companies that are active in Turkmenistan, mainly in the oil & gas, o&g equipment and engineering sectors.
And these numbers are down substantially from the last few years.
As Ashgabat is becoming aware that its stumbling economy needs diversifying, the diplomat-in-chief, President Berdymukhamedov, has been on the road a lot lately promoting trade with his country. After Japan and Azerbaijan late October, he descended on Rome.
And despite the country’s closed nature foreign companies are interested thanks to its abundant hydrocarbon resources. In Milan, larger players such as ENI
and CNH Industrials that have been