VZCZCXRO6374
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0740/01 1621242
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111242Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2960
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5302
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3032
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2897
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 3546
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1023
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 3613
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000740 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ERD EIND TX KS
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN:  SOUTH KOREAN COMPANIES DOMINATE A 
TEXTILE EXHIBITION 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public 
Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The June 7-9 textile exhibition in 
Ashgabat, organized by the Turkmen Government, hosted the 
representatives and displays of local enterprises and 
some 30 foreign companies seeking to enter the market or 
expand their business in the country.  Although many of 
the exhibitors were the usual crowd of local companies, 
13 South Korean companies that provide a variety of 
materials and services to the textile industry were 
represented at the exhibition this year.  The South 
Korean Government and businesses may have assessed that 
there is a market opportunity in this developing sector, 
and they are taking it.  Alternatively, Korean officials 
may be promoting further bilateral cooperation in this 
sector as a quid pro quo aimed at improving the prospects 
for more lucrative energy or construction projects.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Ministry of Textile Industry of Turkmenistan 
organized an international textile exhibition named 
"Principal Directions of the Turkmen Textile Industry 
Development," June 7 - 9 in Ashgabat.  More than 60 local 
and foreign enterprises displayed their products at the 
exhibition.  The organizers also conducted an economic 
forum alongside the exhibition on June 8.  Foreign and 
local textile experts, business representatives and 
government representatives participated in the forum, 
which reportedly focused on joint development of 
Turkmenistan's textile industry.  All the Deputy Cabinet 
Chairmen, other high-ranking government officials and the 
diplomatic corps attended the opening ceremony of the 
exhibition, which included a Turkmen-themed, runway-style 
fashion show. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Turkmen textile industry was represented by 
30 state-controlled factories that produce various types 
of textile materials and end products that are well-known 
in the country.  A small number of local private firms 
also exhibited their products, mostly small-scale textile 
production including traditional crafts. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The percentage of foreign companies present at 
the exhibition was surprisingly high for Turkmenistan, 
mostly due to the participation of 13 South Korean 
companies that produce various types of textile industry- 
related materials ranging from dyes and chemicals to 
machinery and finished products.  (NOTE:  The presence of 
13 Korean companies constituted almost half of the 
foreign private enterprise representation.  END NOTE.) 
None of the Korean companies currently operates in 
Turkmenistan nor has ties with local businesses, so for 
them it was a first attempt to enter the Turkmen market. 
The Korean Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), a 
Korean Government-funded research institute that supports 
the industrial and technical development of small and 
medium enterprises, arranged the participation of the 
South Korean companies in the exhibition.  A South Korean 
Embassy employee told Post local staff in a telephone 
conversation that the Turkmen-Korean Intergovernmental 
Commission also played a significant role in bringing the 
Korean companies to the exhibition. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Among other foreign companies that used the 
exhibition as an opportunity to enter the local textile 
market were Sympatex Technologies GMBH (Germany), 
Chaykovsky Tekstil (Russia), Kamvol (Belarus), and TK- 
Donbass (Ukraine).  There was an allegedly U.S.-based 
company called VPK International LLC that was exhibiting 
 
ASHGABAT 00000740  002 OF 002 
 
 
uniforms and industrial clothing.  (NOTE:  A quick 
internet search revealed no U.S.-based company by that 
name.  It was more likely Ukrainian.  END NOTE.)  The 
exhibition also included foreign companies that have been 
doing business in Turkmenistan for a long time.  These 
included the Turkish construction companies Kotam 
Enterprises, Engin Group, and Ahmet Calik's Gap Insaat, 
Swiss companies Bezema, Rieter, and Huntsmann, the 
Russian firm UTUMA, Italian companies Marzoli and Savio, 
and Belgian firms Le Kler and Meert. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT:  The extensive South Korean 
participation made this exhibition different from other 
exhibitions of this kind that take place in Ashgabat 
quite often.  South Korean officials and businesses have 
become increasingly active in Turkmenistan over the last 
two years, and the two governments exchanged presidential 
visits and established an intergovernmental commission 
for economic cooperation during that time as well.  In 
general, high-level bilateral contacts and agreements 
have been the easiest and fastest way for foreign 
companies to enter the Turkmen market.  Although it is 
hard to tell whether the Korean companies participated at 
the behest of the Turkmen government or on their own 
initiative, joint business activity in this sector could 
benefit other areas of the bilateral relationship in 
which the Koreans are seeking progress, including energy 
sector work and major construction.  It may be that the 
Turkmen side, through the bilateral "intergovernmental 
economic commission" -- tasked with mapping out the two 
countries' economic cooperation -- requested the 
participation of the Korean textile industry companies in 
the exhibition, in order to encourage the industry's 
further development in Turkmenistan.  END COMMENT. 
 
MILES