France–Turkmenistan relations


French-Turkmen relations refers to the bilateral relations between France and Turkmenistan. The current Ambassador of Turkmenistan to France is Chary Niyazov. The current Ambassador of France to Turkmenistan is Pierre Lebovich. Both countries are full members of the OSCE and the UN.

History

Diplomatic relations were established on March 6, 1992 following the signing of a declaration of friendship.

Official Visits

The first official visit to Ashgabat by a French President was made on April 28, 1994 by François Mitterrand. 2 years later on September 9, 1996, Saparmurat Niyazov paid an official visit to France, where he held talks with President Jacques Chirac, and Foreign Minister Herve de Charette. In April 2008, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner visited Turkmenistan to open a new building of the French Embassy in Ashgabat, with the Ambassador of France to Turkmenistan Christian Lechervy. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited Paris twice during his presidency, holding talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on February 1, 2012, and attending a prestigious horse race in October of that year.

Economic cooperation

First appeared on the Turkmen market in 1994, the French construction company Bouygues, the company is the second largest in Turkmenistan signed contracts for the construction of buildings. French company Thales Alenia Space construction of the first space satellite TurkmenSat 1.