Country and Capital | Turkmenistan, Ashgabat |
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Area; arable land | 488,100 sq Kms ( 80% desert) - about 1.4 times of Rajasthan; 9 million hectares (4.5 % of land) |
Important cities | Ashgabat, Turkmenabat, Dashoguz, Mary, Balkanabat and Turkmenbashy (port city) |
Population (2010) | Approx 5.5 million; sparsely populated |
Land border/Caspian shoreline (Kms) | Afghanistan-744, Iran-992, Uzbekistan-1,621, Kazakhstan -379, Caspian Sea shoreline-1,768 |
Languages spoken | Mostly Turkmen as well as Russian, also some Uzbek |
Religion | Sunni Muslims - 89%; Eastern Orthodox- 9% |
Independence Day | 27 October 1991 |
Day of Neutrality | 12 December 1995 |
Constitution | New Constitution adopted on 26 September 2008 |
Head of State & Head of Govt. | H.E. Mr. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, since 14 February 2007 and reelected in Feb2012 |
Legislature and Suffrage | Unicameral Parliament (Mejlis) with 125 members; 18 years |
Last elections | 12 February 2012 |
Political parties | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (Main political party in the country) |
Judicial Branch | Supreme Court |
Foreign Minister | Mr. Rashid Meredov. ( He is of the rank of Deputy Prime Ministers/ Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers and de-facto No. 2 person in Turkmenistan) |
Currency | Stable; Manat ( US $ 1= 2.843 Manat); pegged to US Dollar since January 2010 |
Natural resources | Huge reserves of Natural Gas , also crude oil, cotton, wheat and iodine |
GDP (2012 est) | GDP - US$ 33.47 billion; GDP (PPP) - US$ 47.55 billion |
GDP growth rate (2012) | 11.1% |
Global Trade in 2012 | US$ 34.5 billion; Exports US$ 19.9 billion, Imports US$ 14.6 billion. Major exports: Natural Gas, Petroleum products, textiles, cotton, electricity, wheat Major imports: manufactured goods, consumable items, foodstuff Major countries-Exports: China, Iran, Russia, Turkey Major countries-Imports: Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, UAE and Germany |
External debt | US $ 429 million |
Foreign Policy Orientation | Positive Neutrality, with constructive engagement with important countries viz., Turkey, Iran, UAE and China. |
Multilateral membership | UN and agencies, CIS (Associate member), ECO, OIC, NATO-PFP, OSCE, NAM, IMF. Not yet WTO, SCO member. |
Relations with India | Historically close and friendly ties; Turkman Gate built in Delhi in 1650s; Presently Turkmenistan Airlines operate 8 flights per week between two countries (2 to Delhi and 6 to Amritsar); TAPI gas pipeline Project of key importance to India’s energy security. |
ITEC training in India | 324 Turkmen nationals trained in different courses since 1994. |
Trade with India in 2011-12 (Source: Ministry of Commerce, India) | Total trade US$ 60.84 million; Exports from India US$; 43.95 million; Imports by India US$ 16.89 million. Also, imports of goods by approx. 1,500 Turkmen shopping tourists visiting India. |
Imports from India | Electronic and electrical items, machinery, woven apparel, pharmaceuticals, tyres and batteries, meat products |
Exports to India | Raw cotton and inorganic chemicals. |
Major visits from India | PM Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao - Sept 1995; EAM Shri Jaswant Singh - May 1999; MOS(P&NG) Shri Dinsha Patel - Feb 2006; MOS(EA) Shri E.Ahamed - Oct 2006 & Feb 2007; Minister of Water Resources Shri Saifuddin Soz - Dec 2006; VP Shri Hamid Ansari - April 2008; EAM Shri S.M. Krishna - Sept. 2009; MOS Smt. Preneet Kaur -Feb. 2010; MOS(P&NG) Shri Jitin Prasada - Sept. 2010; Minister(P&NG) Shri Murli Deora - December 2010; MOS (Communication & IT) Shri Sachin Pilot - October 2011; Minister (P&NG) Shri S. Jaipal Reddy - May 2012; Minister (Comm. & IT) Shri Kapil Sibal, 16-19 September 2012; Minister (P&NG) Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, 9-10 July 2013 |
Major visits to India | President Niyazov - April 1992 & Feb 1997; Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov - April 1995, July 1996, Dec 1997 and April 2000. Dy.PM & Foreign Minister Meredov Jan 2008 (for 2nd IGC); President Berdimuhamedov - May 2010; Minister of Oil & Gas Industry, B. Nedirov April 2011; Deputy Minister of Defence Jebbar Akyyev May-June 2011, Dy. Speaker of Parliament Ms. Gurbangul Bayramova 2-5 October 2012, Minister of Oil and Gas Industry Mr. K. Abdullaev, 14-17 October 2012, Dy. PM and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, 21-22 January 2013 |
Joint Commission | Agreement signed on December 1995; 1st meeting held in October 2006, 2nd meeting in January 2008, 3rd IGC in February 2010; 4th IGC held in New Delhi on 22 January 2013. |
Important dates | India recognised Turkmenistan as an independent country on December 26, 1991; established resident Embassy in Ashgabat on 30 January 1994. |
Indian nationals in Turkmenistan | Approximately 2,500. Prominent among them are 2,000 technicians/semi-skilled workers at Yolotan. 450 are construction workers in Ashgabat. Remaining 50 work at Hazar/offshore Caspian region. |
Turkmen nationals in India | 100 students studying in Pune (some also in Hyderabad) on their own expenses. |
Air links with India | Turkmen Airlines operates 8 flights a week to India - 2 flights from Ashgabat to Delhi(Wednesdays and Saturdays) and 6 flights from Ashgabat to Amritsar. Turkmen Airlines may start 2 flights a week from Ashgabat to Goa in 2014. |