French president Emmanuel Macron receives Monday May 5 Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov, de facto leader of Turkmenistan, one of the most reclusive and authoritarian countries in the world, which is full of gas, with the signing of several agreements.
The “national leader of the Turkmian people”, father of the Turkmene President Serdar Berdymoukhamedov, is expected at 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT) at the Élysée for ” of the signatures d’accords » And a work dinner, the French presidency announced without further details.
Gourbangughly BerdyMouKHampedO Especies Quez Sa Visit “Will give powerful impulse to the development of cooperation” bilateral and “Will open a new page in the history of relationships” Between Achkhabad and Paris, according to comments reported by the official Turkmenistan news agency.
Only two Franco-Turkmens summits have taken place since the independence of the country of the USSR in 1991, the last dating back to a visit to Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov to President Nicolas Sarkozy in February 2010.
It is very rare for European leaders to appear alongside Turkmen officials. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel had thus welcomed the Turkmene leader in 2016. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán went to Achkabad in 2023.
Turkmenistan, a ex-desert Soviet republic bordering the Caspian Sea, is in the depths of classification for human rights and press freedom, alongside Afghanistan and North Korea.
The father-son duo Gourbangouly and Serdar Berdymoukhamedov, in power since 2006, is the subject of a true cult of personality.
The father, president of the Council of the People of Turkmenistan, is rented as “hero-Arkadag” (protector) and “chief of the Turkmen” and remains in fact the undisputed master of the country.
Rivalry
Rich in natural resources, Turkmenistan, like the other countries in Central Asia, stirs up lusts and rivalries between Russia, China and Europe.
The European Union, which is trying to arise as an alternative, announced in April an aid of 12 billion euros for Central Asia as part of its project ” Global Gateway For infrastructure, European response to “new silk roads” promoted by Beijing.
Sea serpent for three decades, the delivery of the immense reserves of Turkmen in Europe could be approached at the Élysée.
This project, slowed down by logistical difficulties, with transport infrastructure via Russia, was relaunched by the war in Ukraine and the end of the delivery of Russian gas in Europe, which must find alternative supplies.
Turkmenistan, which seeks to diversify its partners so as not to depend on the only Chinese market, regularly calls for building a gas pipeline through the Caspian Sea connecting Central Asia to the Caucasus and then to Europe, for the time being without concrete financing.
Franco-Turkmens trade remains low-74.6 million euros in 2023-and Turkmenistan is only the 141st trading partner in France, but the French presence is visible.
The Bouygues and Vinci groups build many marble buildings there for the country’s leaders, fond of grandiose constructions, which has contributed to the creation of a new architectural image of Turkmenistan.
