Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur in Ashgabat on November 3, reported Turkmenistan’s State News Agency TDH.
Kapur conveyed greetings from US President Donald Trump and said Washington “attaches great importance to the consistent development of cooperation with Turkmenistan”. The sides discussed political dialogue, trade, energy, transport and logistics, as well as cultural and humanitarian ties.
Energy was a key topic. Ashgabat said it “highly values the attention and support provided by the United States” for the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline. It reaffirmed its policy of diversifying gas export routes on terms that balance the interests of producers, consumers and transit countries. Turkmenistan also pointed to its experience with US companies including John Deere, Case New Holland, Boeing and Nicklaus Design, and to the recent meeting of the Turkmenistan–US Business Council in Ashgabat.
Kapur was in Ashgabat for the annual US–Turkmen political consultations with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov. According to the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, these covered trade, investment and Trans-Caspian connectivity and built on the C5+1 ministerial meeting held in Samarkand. Kapur thanked Turkmenistan for co-chairing the C5+1 Secretariat in 2025–2026.
The visit reflects growing US interest in Central Asian energy and transport routes that bypass Russia.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
November 4, 2026