ANKARA: Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov met with Italian Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina, who headed Italy’s delegation that arrived in Ashgabat to take part in a Turkmen-Italian business forum.
The parties emphasized big opportunities for extending bilateral cooperation in all sectors, especially in agriculture, which is an important sector of Italian and Turkmen economies, the state information agency of Turkmenistan reported.
For this purpose Turkmenistan will take part in the upcoming international exhibition EXPO-2015 in Milan, where Turkmenistan plans to extend its international cooperation in the production and export of food products.
According to the Italian agriculture minister, dynamically developing Turkmenistan with its huge resources and economic potential is of great interest for Italian business circles that are attracted by the country’s favorable investment climate and reliable legislation.
Relations between Turkmenistan and Italy received a new impetus after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s official visit to Turkmenistan in November 2014.
During the visit, Italy’s Eni, the Turkmen State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources, and Turkmenistan’s State Oil Concern Turkmenneft signed an addendum to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with respect to the onshore Nebit Dag Area located in West Turkmenistan. The addendum extended the duration of the PSA to February 2032 and a 10% stake out of the contractor share was transferred by Eni, operator of the block, to Turkmenneft. Eni will keep the remaining 90% interest stake in the PSA. This agreement will enable further E&P investments in Burun and other satellite fields of the Nebit Dag block.
Eni also agreed with Turkmenistan to explore the possibility of extending the company’s activities to Turkmenistan’s offshore sector of the Caspian Sea.
