AWAZA, Friday, September 18, 2025 (WNP): The Turkmenistan Investment Forum (TIF 2025) opened Thursday in the National Tourist Zone ‘Awaza’ drawing over 800 delegates from 45 countries, including senior government officials, global corporate leaders, investment bankers, and renowned experts.
The Forum was inaugurated on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov by the Minister of Finance and Economy, who underscored Turkmenistan’s commitment to fostering international partnerships.
The opening day’s highlight was a plenary session titled “Investment Attractiveness of Turkmenistan as a Factor of Strategic Efficiency,” moderated by UN Resident Coordinator Dmitry Shlapachenko.
Keynote speakers included World Bank Executive Director Beatriz Luz Maser Mallor and UN Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima. In her remarks, Ms. Fatima praised Turkmenistan’s leadership in championing the cause of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and introduced new UN initiatives, such as an Infrastructure Investment Financing Mechanism, a Global Business Network, and a Digital Investment Guide. She also noted that the UN and its partners have prepared a roadmap of 319 projects to implement the Awaza Programme of Action for the Decade 2024–2034.
Ms. Fatima stressed that LLDCs, with their youthful populations and renewable resources, hold vast potential as future hubs of sustainable development and innovation. She emphasized that platforms like TIF 2025 are vital for building partnerships that can transform LLDCs into resilient and dynamic economies.
Prominent scholar Professor S. Frederick Starr urged investors to diversify beyond traditional oil and gas ventures, highlighting opportunities in transport and agriculture. He reiterated the importance of realizing the long-delayed TAPI pipeline project and pointed to Turkmenistan’s fertile northern regions as ripe for agricultural expansion.
Over the two-day event, participants will be introduced to ready-to-implement projects across multiple sectors, including energy, logistics, construction, finance, and innovation, with a strong focus on public–private partnerships, green and digital transformation, and climate-smart agriculture.
The international stature of TIF 2025 is reflected in its wide-ranging support from over 50 partners, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the United Nations, and leading corporations such as Daewoo E&C and John Deere.
