Economic Relations between Turkmenistan and the World Regions and the Role of the EAEU

Turkmenistan’s interaction with the world regions and with the leading countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an important aspect of political and economic relations in Central Asia. Moreover, after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, a new geopolitical space, located at the intersection of strategic trade routes and rich in resources, emerged in Central Asia, which poses great interest to the great powers and to regional actors — a “New Big Game” is being formed for control over the region. Therefore, Turkmenistan with the entire region is turning into a “platform” for the clash of interests of these actors, because it is located at the junction of four world sides at once — the North (EAEU), the South (Iran, Turkey), the West (USA, EU) and the East (China). The purpose of this article is to analyze economic relations of Turkmenistan with the main countries of the EAEU and to compare the intensity of these relations with other actors — the South, the West and the East, in the context of a New Big Game. The article describes the pace and the structure of Turkmenistan’s trade turnover with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iran, the United States, the EU, and China, as well as provides geopolitical assessments of these players` actions in the region. The author used methods of economic and geopolitical analysis and monitoring of various media. Based on the results of the work, the primary conclusions are as follows: 1) The South has managed to build a very productive economic dialogue with Turkmenistan, but its influence remains insignificant due to the lack of resources and the rivalry between Iran and Turkey; 2) The West has also succeeded in building a fairly intensive economic relations with Turkmenistan, but there is a serious instability in these contacts, and the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan indicates that the influence of the West has been seriously shaken both in Turkmenistan and in Central Asia; 3) China has achieved the greatest success in building strong economic relations with Turkmenistan, and it is China which has the greatest influence on the Turkmenistan domestic situation, while strengthening its positions in the entire region; 4) The North has every chance to improve its influence in Turkmenistan and strengthen its position in the entire region, despite the contradictions in Russian-Turkmen relations and the trade pace that is inferior to China, which is approximately at the level of Turkmenistan’s trade with the South.

1. Ahrari M. E., Beal J. The New Great Game in Muslim Central Asia. – University Press of the Pacific, 2002.

2. Asian Development Bank. Key Indicators Database. Turkmenistan. – URL: https://kidb.adb.org/kidb/sdbsCountryView/countryViewResult?selectedCountryId=207 (access

3. mode: 12. 08. 2021).

4. Dzhumaev. I. Vneshnyaya torgovlya Turkmenistana: tendencii, problemy i perspektivy. 2012. Doklad No11. [Foreign Trade of Turkmenistan: Trends, Problems and Prospects. 2012. Report No. 11] // Universitet Centralnoj Azii. In-t gos. upravleniya i politiki [University of Central Asia. Institute of state management and policy]. - URL:https://www.ucentralasia.org/Content/downloads/UCA-IPPA-WP11-Turkmenistan-Rus.pdf (access mode: 23.06.2020).

5. Goryunov I.D. Rossiya – Turkmenstan: osobennosti vzaimnoj torgovli na sovremennom etape [Russia – Turkmenistan: Features of Mutual Trade at The Present Stage] // Fundamentalnye issledovaniya [Fundamental Research] – 2018. – No. 6.

6. Jamiyeva G. Istoriya stanovleniya i razvitiya Turkmenistana kak nejtral’nogo gosudarstva (1995—2015 gg.) [History of the Formation and Development of Turkmenistan as a Neutral State (1995—2015)]: candidate of historical sciences diss. – Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University, 2018.

7. Paramonov V., Strokov A. i Stolpovskij O. Vneshnyaya politika Kitaya v Central’noj Azii [China’s Foreign Policy in Central Asia] // Central’naya Aziya i Kavkaz [Central Asia and the Caucasus]. –2010. – No. 4. – P. 84.

8. State Committee of statistics of Turkmenistan. Statistical Yearbook of Turkmenistan. –

9. Ashgabat, 2018.

10. Troickij. E. F. Vneshnyaya politika Turkmenistana v 1992-2006 gg.: ot nejtraliteta k samoizolyacii [Foreign Policy of Turkmenistan in 1992-2006: From Neutrality to Self-isolation] // Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Istoriya [Bulletin of the Tomsk State University. History]. – 2014. – No. 4. – P. 68.

11. Vincent de Kitspotter. Bolshaya igra v Centralnoj Azii [The Big Game in Central Asia] // Yadernyj kontrol [Nuclear Control]. — 2005. — No. 1.

12. Zhmuida. I., Morozov M. Turkmenistan: integraciya v mirovoj rynok [Turkmenistan: Integration into the World Market] // Aziya i Afrika segodnya [Asia and Africa today]. – 1996. –

13. No. 3. – P. 34.

14. International Trade Centre. Trade Map. – URL: https://www.trademap.org/Bilateral_TS

15. .aspx?nvpm=5%7c795%7c%7c842%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c2%7c1%7

16. c1%7c1%7c1%7c1 (access mode: 12. 08. 2021).

17. Italiya vyshla na tret’e mesto vo vneshnej torgovle Turkmenistana [Italy Took the Third Place in the Foreign Trade of Turkmenistan] // Turkmenportal [Turkmenportal]. – September 4, 2020. – URL: https://turkmenportal.com/blog/30102/italiya-vyshla-na-trete-mesto-vo-vneshnei-torgovle-turkmenistana (access mode: 14.04.2021).

18. «KAMAZy» dlya Turkmenistana [KAMAZ Vehicles for Turkmenistan] // Oficial’nyj sajt gruppy kompanij RariTEK [Official website of RariTEK Holding]. – December 16, 2019. – URL:

19. https://bus.raritek.ru/news/831138/ (access mode: 23.06.2020).

20. Ministerstvo inostrannyh del Rossijskoj Federacii. Vneshnyaya politika. Mezhdunarodnye dogovory. Dvustoronnie dogovory. [The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Foreign policy. International agreements. Bilateral agreements].– URL: https://www.mid.ru/foreign_policy/international_contracts/2_contract/-/storage-viewer/

21. bilateral/page-28/52526 (access mode: 13.08. 2021).

22. Po itogam 2019 goda mezhdu Turkmenistanom i Turciej vyros tovarooborot [According to the Results of 2019, Trade between Turkmenistan and Turkey Increased] // Turkmenportal [Turkmenportal]. – February 23, 2020. – URL: https://turkmenportal.com/blog/25405/po-

23. itogam-2019-goda-mezhdu-turkmenistanom-i-turciei-vyros-tovarooborot (access mode: 23.06.2020).

24. Po itogam 2020 goda tovaroobmen mezhdu Turkmenistanom i Turciej sostavil 2

25. mlrd. dollarov [At the End of 2020, Trade between Turkmenistan and Turkey Amounted to $2 billion] // SNG.FM [SNG.FM]. – February 24, 2021. – URL: https://sng.fm/16412-po-itogam-2020-goda-tovaroobmen-mezhdu-turkmenistanom-i-turciej-sostavil-2-mlrd-dollarov.html (access mode: 13.04.2021).

26. Rossijsko-turkmenistanskie otnosheniya. Dos’e [Russian-Turkmen Relations. Dossier] // Finance.rambler.ru [Finance.rambler.ru]. – August 15, 2018. – URL: https://finance.rambler.ru/other/40568013-rossiysko-turkmenistanskie-otnosheniya-dose/?updated (access mode: 23.06.2020).

27. Tamozhennaya administraciya Islamskoj Respubliki Iran [Customs Administration of

28. the Islamic Republic of Iran]. – URL: https://www.irica.ir/general_content/1396004/1396004.

29. htm (access mode: 12. 08. 2021).

30. Tovarooborot mezhdu RF i Turkmenistanom v 2019 g. s uchetom postavok gaza

31. sostavil poryadka 1 mlrd doll. SShA [The Trade Turnover between the Russian Federation

32. and Turkmenistan in 2019, Taking into Account Gas Supplies, Amounted to about 1

33. Billion US Dollars] // Neftegaz.ru [Neftegaz.ru]. – June 11, 2020. – https://neftegaz.ru/news/

34. Trading/553610-tovarooborot-mezhdu-rf-i-turkmenistanom-v-2019-gs-uchetom-postavok-gaza-sostavil-poryadka-1-mlrd-do/ (access mode: 23.06.2020).

35. Tovarooborot Mezhdu Rossiej i Turkmenistanom v 2020 godu sostavil pochti 1 mlrd. doll. SShA [Trade Turnover between Russia and Turkmenistan in 2020 Amounted to Almost 1 Billion US Dollars] // Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia. – April 1, 2021. – URL: https://minpromtorg.gov.ru/press-centre/news/#!tovarooborot_mezhdu_rossiey_i_turkmenistanom_v_2020_godu_sostavil_pochti_1_mlrd_doll_ssha (access mode: 13.04.2021).

36. Tovarooborot mezhdu Turkmenistanom i Iranom vyros na 300% [Trade Turnover between Turkmenistan and Iran Has Grown by 300%] // Turkmenportal [Turkmenportal].– January 15, 2021. – URL: https://turkmenportal.com/blog/33598/tovarooborot-mezhdu-turkmenistanom-i-iranom-vyros-na-300?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop (access mode: 13.04.2021).

37. Tovarooborot Turkmenistana s Kitaem v denezhnom ekvivalente znachitel’no sokratilsya [Trade between Turkmenistan and China in Monetary Terms Has Significantly Decreased] // Hronika Turkmenistana [Chronicles of Turkmenistan]. – January 6, 2017. –

38. URL: https://www.hronikatm.com/2017/01/tovarooborot-turkmenistana-s-kitaem-v-

39. denezhnom-ekvivalente/ (access mode: 23.06.2020).

40. Trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and Turkmenistan // Official website of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Turkmenistan, 2007-2021. – URL : http://turkmenistan.mfa.gov.by/ru/bilateral_relations/trade_economic/(access mode: 23.06.2020).

41. Turkmenistan i SShA obsudili torgovo-ekonomicheskie svyazi [Turkmenistan and

42. the USA Discussed Trade and Economic Relations] // trend.az [trend.az]. – December 18, 2020. – URL: https://www.trend.az/casia/turkmenistan/3351781.html (access mode: 14.04.2021).

43. V 2018 godu Turkmeniya natorgovala s Kitaem na bolee chem $8,4 mlrd. [In 2018, Turkmenistan Made a Trade with China for More than $ 8.4 Billion] // REGNUM [REGNUM]. –

44. October 1, 2019. – URL:https://regnum.ru/news/economy/2735524.html (access mode:

45. 06.2020).

46. V 2019 godu Turkmeniya natorgovala s Kazahstanom na $145,8 mln. [In 2019,

47. Turkmenistan Made a Trade with Kazakhstan for $ 145.8 Million] // REGNUM [REGNUM]. –

48. March 2, 2020. – URL: https://regnum.ru/news/economy/2872705.html (access mode:

49. 04.2021).