Korea, Turkmenistan sign 13 deals across investment, energy, security

On Tuesday, Korea and Turkmenistan inked 13 deals and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), strengthening their bilateral ties in investment, energy, and security sectors. The agreements were finalized during a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung of Korea and President Serdar Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan, which took place prior to the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit scheduled for Wednesday.

Among the key agreements signed were an investment promotion and protection pact, which grants most-favored-nation status to Turkmenistan and outlines procedures for resolving investor-state disputes. Additionally, the two nations signed an infrastructure MOU, which aims to facilitate Korean companies' participation in major energy, construction, and logistics projects within Turkmenistan. Similarly, a water resource management MOU will facilitate the transfer of Korean water management technology to Turkmenistan.

MOUs were also established on cooperation in the chemical industry and plants, railway transportation, combating transnational organized crime, public security, customs cooperation and mutual assistance against crimes like smuggling, and border-level intellectual property protection against counterfeit goods.