|
Country
and Capital |
Turkmenistan, Ashgabat |
|
Area;
arable land |
488,100
sq Kms ( 80% desert) about 1.4 times of Rajasthan; 9
million hectares (4.5 % of land) |
|
Important cities |
Ashgabat, Turkmenabat, Dashoguz, Mary, Balkanabat and
Turkmenbashy (port city) |
|
Population (2010) |
~ 6
million; sparsely populated |
|
Land
border/Caspian shoreline (Kms) |
Afghanistan-744, Iran-992, Uzbekistan-1,621, Kazakhstan -379,
Caspian Sea shoreline-1,768 |
|
Languages spoken |
Mostly
Turkmen as well as Russian, also some Uzbek |
|
Religion |
Sunni
Muslims - 89%; Eastern Orthodox- 9% |
|
Independence Day |
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, since 14 February 2007 |
|
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 of the rank of Deputy Prime Ministers/
Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers) |
|
Currency |
Stable;
Manat ( US $ 1= 2.843 Manat) |
|
Natural
resources |
Huge
reserves of Natural Gas , crude oil, cotton, wheat, iodine |
|
GDP per
capita (2009 est)/ GDP |
US$
3,248 (PPP basis); GDP US$ 16.24 billion (PPP basis) |
|
GDP
growth rate (2010) |
9.2%;
good prognosis for 2011-12. |
|
Global
Trade in 2008
|
US$ 17.6 billion; Exports US$
11.9 billion, Imports US$ 5.7 billion.
Major exports: Natural Gas,
crude oil / petroleum products, textiles, cotton, electricity
Major
imports: manufactured goods, consumable items
Major
countries-Exports: Iran, China, Russia, Turkey
Major
countries-Imports: Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, UAE, China |
|
External debt |
US $ 4
billion to the Chinese development bank; US $ 1 billion to the
Islamic Development Bank |
|
Foreign
Policy Orientation |
Positive Neutrality, with
constructive engagement with all countries. |
|
Multilateral membership |
UN and agencies, CIS
(Associate member), ECO, OIC, NATO-PFP, OSCE, NAM, IMF. Not yet
WTO, SCO member. |
|
Relations with India |
Historically close and friendly ties; Turkman Gate in built in
Delhi in 1650s; Presently 8 Turkmenistan Airways flights per
week between two countries (2 to Delhi and 6 to Amritsar);
TAPI gas pipeline project of key importance for Indias
energy security. |
|
ITEC
training in India |
286
nationals trained in different courses since 1994. |
|
Trade
with India in 2009-10 (Source: Ministry of Commerce, India) |
Total
trade US$ 46.15 million; Exports from India US$; 36.15 million ;
Imports by India US$ 10 million. Also, imports of goods by
approx. 1,500 Turkmen shopping tourists visiting India. |
|
Imports
from India |
Electronic and electrical items, machinery, woven apparel,
pharmaceuticals, tyres and batteries.
|
|
Exports
to India |
Raw cotton and inorganic
chemicals. |
|
Major
visits from India |
PM Shri
P.V. Narasimha Rao Sept 1995; EAM Shri Jaswant Singh May
1999; MOS(P&NG) Shri Dinsha Patel Feb 2006; MOS(EA) Shri E.Ahamed
Oct 2006 & Feb 2007; Minister of Water Resources Shri
Saifuddin Soz Dec 2006; VP Shri Hamid Ansari April 2008; EAM
Shri S.M. Krishna Sept. 2009; MOS Smt. Preneet Kaur Feb.
2010; MOS(P&NG) Shri Jitin Prasada Sept. 2010; Minister(P&NG)
Shri Murli Deora December 2010. |
|
Major
visits to India |
President Niyazov April 1992
& Feb 1997; Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov April 1995,
July 1996, Dec 1997 and April 2000. Dy.PM & Foreign Minister
Meredov Jan 2008 (for 2nd IGC); President
Berdimuhamedov May 2010. |
|
Joint
Commission |
Agreement signed on December
1995; 1st meeting held in October 2006, 2nd
meeting in January 2008, 3rd IGC in February 2010; 4th
IGC likely in early-2012. |
|
Important dates |
India recognised Turkmenistan
as an independent country on December 26,1991; established
Embassy in Ashgabat on 30.1.94 |
|
Indian
nationals in Turkmenistan |
Approximately 1,250.
Prominent among
them are engineers,
businesspersons and traders. As many as 1,100 are construction
workers. |
|
Turkmen
nationals in India |
90 students studying in Pune
(some also in Hyderabad) on their own expenses. |
|
Air
links with India |
Turkmen Airlines operates 8
flights a week to India 2 flights from Ashgabat to Delhi and
back and 6 flights from Ashgabat to Amritsar and back. |
