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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000218 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB; COMMERCE FOR DSTARKS/EHOUSE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2020 
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD EPET BTIO FR TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: PRESIDENT BERDIMUHAMEDOV'S FEBRUARY 
1-2 TRIP TO FRANCE 
 
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Both France and Turkmenistan view President 
Berdimuhamedov's February 1-2 visit to France as a success, 
according to French Charge Henri Leval.  In addition to 
meetings with France's top leadership, Berdimuhamedov 
presided at a Turkmen-French Business Forum meeting, attended 
by 100 French companies interested in doing business in 
Turkmenistan.  A number of agreements were signed, including 
one between Turkmenistan's Ministry of Energy and a number of 
European companies to upgrade Ashgabat's electrical grid. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) French Charge Henri Leval briefed us on President 
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov's February 1-2 visit to France. 
Leval termed the visit "historic" since this was the first 
visit of a Turkmen Head of State to France.  Originally, the 
visit was to extend for three days, but the Turkmen side 
decided against it. Leval described the visit as "very good," 
and said the Turkmen have expressed their gratitude to the 
French for how everything went. 
 
¶3. (C) Leval said the first day consisted of a lunch with 
President Sarkozy, and a private dinner that evening with 
French businessmen from Total, Bouygues, and others.  On 
February 2, Berdimuhamedov had a meeting at UNESCO where he 
discussed making the Karakum desert a world heritage site as 
well as how best to promote Turkmen culture to an 
international audience.  Berdimuhamedov also met that day 
with President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher. The 
Turkmen President toured the Louvre and Notre Dame, and 
Turkmen state-run newspapers printed a picture of him gazing 
up at the Mona Lisa. 
 
TURKMEN-FRENCH BUSINESS FORUM MEETING 
 
¶4. (C) Berdimuhamedov and the Turkmen officials who traveled 
with him attended a meeting of the Turkmen-French Business 
Forum on February 2 at the Ritz Hotel.  (NOTE:  Currently, 17 
French companies operate in Turkmenistan on 67 different 
projects, mostly in the field of construction.  END NOTE.) 
Representatives of 100 French businesses already active or 
interested in investigating the Turkmenistan market were 
present.  Leval said the French tried to push for a question 
and answer session, but the Turkmen refused.  Instead, 
Berdimuhamedov delivered a short five-minute statement at the 
start of the event.  He noted that the viability of the 
Turkmen economy was validated by the fact that it survived 
the recent economic crisis with few damages.  He invited the 
assembled guests to work in his country's oil and gas sector, 
including in the Caspian and to sell modern oil and gas 
extraction technology.  He also invited them to work in 
textiles, the chemical industry, tourism, and construction, 
especially infrastructure building. 
 
¶5. (C) Leval said the Turkmen were quite particular about the 
arrangements for the Business Forum.  Berdimuhamedov had 
brought his own cook and insisted on serving Turkmen food. He 
also brought a group of Turkmen dancers for the 
entertainment. Leval opined that most of the 120 visas the 
French Embassy issued related to this visit seemed to go to 
people as a reward for something else, as they did not really 
play any role in the visit itself. 
 
SIGNED AGREEMENTS 
 
¶6. (C) A signing ceremony was held at Hotel Montegnant. 
Berdimuhamedov and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon 
signed a Protocol complementing the 1994 convention between 
the MFAs of the two countries.  They also signed a convention 
creating a mixed-economic bilateral commission that will meet 
annually.  Turkmen Minister of Culture Gulmyrat Myradov and 
French Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterand signed an 
 
ASHGABAT 00000218  002 OF 002 
 
 
agreement on culture, science, education and information. 
The two men also signed an agreement between the museums of 
both countries on cooperation.  Leval explained that the 
museum agreement will provide a framework for better 
cooperation on restoration of Turkmen antiquities.  In 
addition, it makes the possibility of sharing museum 
collections easier.  He noted that in 1998, the two sides had 
discussed sending items from the Museum in Goek Depe for 
display at the Louvre.  However, the Turkmen at the time said 
a Soviet-era law prevented export of antiquities. 
 
¶7. (C) Leval said the commercial agreement signed was a 100 
million euro deal between Turkmenistan's Ministry of Energy 
and several European companies, including ENEX, Schreder, 
Schneider Electric, and EADS to upgrade the power grid in 
Ashgabat.  The project will be handled in stages and this 
agreement only covered the preliminary stage. 
 
¶8. (C) COMMENT:  These high-level visits are very important 
to the Turkmen and to President Berdimuhamedov in particular. 
 The French will likely be rewarded in the future with 
commercial contracts.  While Leval described the electric 
grid contract as preliminary, it is quite likely the European 
companies participating will get the contract for the entire 
job.  END COMMENT. 
CURRAN