On September 25, in Ashgabat, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met with Commander of the Montana National Guard and Director of the Montana Department of Military Affairs John P. Hronek , the press service of the Foreign Ministry reports .
Representatives of the two countries discussed the resumption of the Partnership Program between the US Central Command, the US National Guard Bureau and the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan.
Earlier, as part of this cooperation, the Montana National Guard conducted a series of trainings for the Turkmen military.
In addition, the parties discussed cooperation between the military departments in the areas of disaster and emergency response and elimination of their consequences, cyber defense and security, as well as construction and engineering.
“Every year, within the framework of the annual cooperation program, a number of events and trainings are held with the participation of American and Turkmen specialists both in Ashgabat and outside of Turkmenistan,” the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Eurasianet suggests that Turkmen soldiers will go to Montana for training, where hundreds of military personnel from all over Central Asia have been training since the 1990s.
Previously, from 1996 to 2011, Turkmenistan cooperated with the US state of Nevada, which is similar in geographical parameters and earthquake risks.
As the publication explains, states interested in cooperation should be its initiators by contacting the United States through the ambassador.
The message of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan states that “the parties expressed their readiness to further develop and strengthen military cooperation with the United States in accordance with the norms of the Constitution of Turkmenistan, the policy of the Constitutional Law of Turkmenistan “On the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan” and the military doctrine of the country.” Thus, according to Eurasianet, Meredov signaled that he also sees the prospect of resurrecting the partnership as having broader strategic implications.
At the same time, despite its status of neutrality, Turkmenistan traditionally maintains the closest security relationship with Russia, and has also enlisted the support of China, whose defense minister visited Ashgabat in April and promised to improve training and strengthen cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism and military – technical equipment.
Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan