Nothing expresses friendship better than the gift of an oil tanker, as demonstrated on Turkmenistan’s state visit to Azerbaijan on June 22 and 23. Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to strengthen ties between the two countries. The presidents signed a Joint Statement and exchanged 12 documents detailing future cooperation in a variety of sectors ranging from social policy to mutual trade. Aliyev also gave Berdimuhamedov the “Dostlug” (meaning "Friendship in both Azerbaijani and Turkmen) oil tanker constructed in the Baku Shipyard.

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are working to build a robust relationship based on economic cooperation and shared cultural roots. Off-shore collaboration in oil and gas originated with a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2021 to jointly explore and develop the Dostlug Oil and Gas Field located between the two countries in the Caspian Sea. The field might hold 30 billion cubic meters of gas and 50-100 million barrels of oil, making it a significant initiative for both countries’ energy industries. 

Continuing this bilateral cooperation, Azerbaijan gave Turkmenistan a 141-meter oil tanker with a deadweight of 7,875 tons that was recently completed at the Baku Shipyard. Fourteen ships have been built by Azerbaijan and 170 repaired, with 17 more ships to be built in the coming years. The Dostlug tanker gift highlights Azerbaijan’s expanding shipbuilding capacity, as well as its strategic significance for Turkmenistan’s energy exports. 

Tankers allow Central Asian countries to send oil to western markets without relying on Russian or Iranian pipelines. For Turkmenistan, this is a chance to diversify its customer base, even though the long-proposed Trans-Caspian Pipeline is not yet part of the public discussion. Most Turkmen oil and gas exports currently flow to China along the Central Asia-China Pipeline, with the UAE, Oman, and Türkiye receiving smaller volumes, in part through gas swaps via Iran. Oil tankers provide Turkmenistan with another option for exporting its oil, further opening the door to European buyers. Azerbaijan is positioned to deliver this capability while strengthening its own status as a central transport hub connecting Europe and Asia.

Besides boosting economic cooperation, the state visit also focused on shared cultural ties and the reconstruction of Karabakh. President Berdimuhamedov visited Fuzuli, where he was briefed on the city’s  post-Karabakh War reconstruction and progress on a mosque there that he had offered to Azerbaijan last July. The delegation also traveled to sites in Shusha, including new residential areas and a second mosque being built to commemorate victory in the Karabakh War and the city’s liberation by Azerbaijan in November 2020. The tour of Karabakh, which encompassed half of the state visit, underlines the reconstruction process as Azerbaijan works alongside regional and Western partners to transform the region into a critical link on the Middle Corridor.

For President Berdimuhamedov, the visit was also notable in that he was not joined by his father, National Leader of the Turkmen people and Chairman of the People's Council Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The former president of Turkmenistan joined his son on last year’s visit to Azerbaijan, but this year’s solo visit indicates the younger Berdimuhamedov’s growing independence in fulfilling his presidential duties.

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan successfully strengthened economic ties and emphasized their shared Turkic roots during this latest diplomatic engagement. Aliyev demonstrated his country’s growing capacity to provide Turkmenistan with a new trade route westward, while Berdimuhamedov secured a valuable new asset for Turkmenistan’s energy industry in the Dostlug tanker. The visit is an important milestone for Easr-West trade on the Caspian Sea and will likely open the door to increased Turkmenistan engagement with western energy markets.