Ashgabat and Brussels are cooperating in preparation for President Serdar Berdimuhamedov's official visit to the capital of the European Union. The upcoming high-level talks are intended not only to consolidate the attained achievements but also to transform the legal relations between the parties into a "comprehensive" partnership.

The information about the visit's preparations, announced during a briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, became the main political signal of the week. As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Myahri Byashimova noted, active coordination of dates and the formation of a substantial package of bilateral documents to be signed in Brussels are currently underway.

For a long time, relations between Turkmenistan and the EU were governed by the Interim Trade Agreement. However, the situation is now changing dramatically: the European Parliament intends to move closer to ratifying the Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (CPCAA).

EU Ambassador Beata Peksa confirmed that this issue will be a key one at the interparliamentary meeting in Brussels in early March. Ratification of the CPCAA will remove the last formal barriers and open the door to large-scale investments and long-term programs previously limited by the "temporary" status of relations.

According to the Ambassador, the visit's program promises to be extremely busy. Negotiations with the leadership of the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament are planned, as well as meetings with relevant European Commissioners on energy security, digital transformation, and the environment. The humanitarian track includes dialogue on education and youth exchanges.

Preparations for the visit come at a time when the EU is actively seeking reliable and predictable partners in energy and logistics (Global Gateway strategy), and Turkmenistan is demonstrating a commitment to thoroughly modernizing its legal and economic framework. The transition to full-fledged cooperation will make Ashgabat a full-fledged strategic partner for Europe in the heart of Central Asia.