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Turkmenistan eyes draft deals on trade, transport in Caspian Sea

6 September 2016 15:32 (UTC+04:00)
Turkmenistan eyes draft deals on trade, transport in Caspian Sea

By Gunay Hasanova

Ashgabat hosted the next meeting of the interdepartmental commission of Turkmenistan on the Caspian Sea, the Turkmen government reported on September 6.

The draft agreements on trade and economic cooperation between Caspian states and in the transport field were discussed at the meeting.

The commission brought together representatives of the State Enterprise for the Caspian Sea under the President of Turkmenistan, the Foreign Ministry, as well as oil and gas, transport and industrial sectors of the local economy.

Today the volume of mutual trade of the countries in the region are expressed in solid terms, however, given the huge multifaceted reserve, the region enjoys good opportunities to significantly increase the economic interaction and bring it to a qualitatively new level.

The report also pointed to the transport sector and the use of the potential of the Caspian Sea as a major communications hub of continental significance as another strategic direction.

Particular attention during the meeting was paid to the promotion of initiatives on the organization of official Ashgabat Caspian Economic Forum.

Two draft protocols, developed by the Turkmen side, which will complement the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea, signed at the third Caspian Summit held in 2010 in Baku were subject of detailed examination.

These documents will create a legal framework for cooperation between the competent authorities of neighboring countries in fields such as the fight against poaching and ensure safety of navigation.

The Caspian Sea is surrounded by the five coastal countries of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. The Sea has a total surface area of 371,000 km², holding 78,200 cubic km of water. Besides this, it is also the 3rd-deepest lake in the-world. The deepest part of the lake is 1,025 m, and the lake has a length of 1,199 km at its longest span, with an average depth of 211 m.

It receives water from the Volga, Ural and the Kura rivers and numerous other freshwater inputs, but has no outlet to the world's oceans. The Volga River, the largest in Europe, is the source of 80% of the Caspian's freshwater inflow. The Caspian Sea is home to about 141 fish species.

The Caspian Sea states signed a Framework Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November of 2003.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July of 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to this agreement in May of 2002.

Moreover, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Seabed and a protocol to it on November 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.

Additionally, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.

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