|
Country and Capital |
Turkmenistan, Ashgabat |
|
Area; arable land |
488,100 Sq Km ( Mostly sandy
desert); 9 million hectares |
|
Important cities |
Ashgabat, Turkmenabat,
Balkanabat, Mary, Dashoguz and Turkmenbashy (port city) |
|
Population(July 2008) |
5,179,571 ; Turkmen 85%, Uzbek
5%; Russian 4%; others 6% |
|
Land boundaries (Kms) |
Afghanistan 744, Iran 992,
Uzbekistan 1621, Kazakhstan 379 |
|
Language |
Turkmen and Russian |
|
Religion |
Mainly Sunni Muslims ( 89%);
No official religion |
|
Day of Independence |
27 October 1991 |
|
Day of Neutrality |
12 December 1995 |
|
Constitution |
New Constitution adopted on 26
September 2008 |
|
Head of State & Head of Govt. |
H.E. Mr. Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov |
|
Legislature and Suffrage |
Unicameral Parliament (Mejlis)
with 125 members ; 18 years |
|
Last elections |
14 December 2008 |
|
Political parties |
Democratic Party of
Turkmenistan ( opposition parties non existent) |
|
Judicial Branch |
Supreme Court |
|
Foreign Minister |
Mr. Rashid Meredov. ( He is
also Dy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers) |
|
Currency |
Manat ( US $ 1=14250 old
manats/2.85 new manats) |
|
Natural resources |
Gas, oil, iodine, sulfur, salt
|
|
GDP per capita (2007) |
US$ 5300 on purchasing power
parity basis(CIA World fact book) |
|
GDP growth rate (2007) |
11.5% (IMF estimate) |
|
Global Trade in 2008 |
US$
17.6 billion; Exports US$ 11.9 bln. Imports US$ 5.7 bln.
Major exports: Natural Gas, Oil by-products, Oil, Textile products,
Cotton fibre, Liquefied gas, Polypropylene, Electricity.
Major imports: Technological
and mechanical equipment, Consumable items (Non-food), Transport,
Food consumable items.
Major countries-Exports:
Russia, Iran, Italy and Turkey
Major countries-Imports:
Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, UAE, China |
|
Relations with India |
Friendly and supportive with
ancient ties |
|
Indian line of credit |
US$ 6.77 mln |
|
ITEC training in India |
246 nationals trained in
different courses since 1994 |
|
Trade with India in
2007-08(Acc to Ministry of Commerce, India) |
Total trade US$ 45.05 mln;
Exports from India US$; 36.39 mln ; Imports by India US$ 8.66 mln |
|
Imports from India |
electronic and electrical
items, machinery, woven apparel and pharmaceuticals |
|
Exports to India |
raw
cotton and inorganic chemicals |
|
Major visits from India |
PM
P.V. Narasimha Rao, 19-21 Sept 1995; EAM Jaswant Singh-May 1999; VP,
B.S. Shekhawat ( Technical halt) -1 Oct 2005; MOS(PNG), Dinsha Patel
13-15 Feb 2006; MOS(EA), E.Ahamed- 1-4 Oct 2006 & 14 Feb 2007; Min
of Water Resources, Saifuddin Soz, 23-25 Dec 2006; MoPNG, Murli
Deora (technical halt) 25 Nov 2007 & 4 Nov 2008 ;VP,Hamid Ansari,
4-6 April 2008 |
|
Major visits to India |
President Niyazov, 18-20 April 1992 & 25-26 Feb 1997; Foreign
Minister, 18-20 April 1995 & 10-14 July 1996, 2-4 Dec 1997 and in
April 2000.DPM & Foreign Minister on 20-22 Jan 2008 |
|
Foreign Policy Orientation
|
Positive Neutrality, constructive engagement with all countries |
|
Multilateral membership |
UN
and agencies, CIS(Associate member), ECO, OIC, NATO-PFP, OSCE, NAM,
IMF. |
|
Joint Commission |
Agreement signed on Dec’95; 1st meeting held on 1-4 Oct 2006,2nd
meeting on 21-22 January 2008 |
|
Important dates |
India recognised Turkmenistan on December 26,1991; Established
embassy in Ashgabat on 30.1.94 |
