On November 5, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov paid a three-day state visit to South Korea for the first time in his presidency. Having met with his counterpart President Lee Myung-bank and a wide circle of business elite representatives, Berdimuhammedov vowed to follow the Korean experience of economic development.

Waiving the state flags of both countries, lines of people headed by Korean state officials provided a warm welcome in all places visited by the presidential delegation in the cities of Seoul, Pusan and Ulsan. On the second day of his visit, Berdimuhammedov met President Lee and held extensive negotiations in the presence of state delegations from both sides. As a result, a joint communiqué consisting of five major points was ceremoniously signed in the presidential palace.

The communiqué includes the following points: 1. memorandum of mutual understanding on cultural cooperation between Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Culture and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea; 2. bilateral agreement between the governments of both countries on opening airway services; 3. agreement on establishing a joint commission on mutual cooperation; 4. memorandum on mutual understanding between the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea; 5. agreement on canceling the visa requirement procedure for holders of diplomatic passports.

In the second half of the day, Berdimuhammedov visited the Hyundai shipbuilding and automobile plants, and praised the quality and design of Hyundai vehicles. It is noteworthy that new Korean buses have already been purchased and put to use in public transportation in Ashgabat. As these buses are being tested in the capital city, 490 more Hyundai buses are expected to be ordered shortly for other regions of Turkmenistan. However, some skeptics believe that these new buses may easily go out of service, since Turkmenistan does not have service centers for Hyundai vehicles, and ordering spare parts from Korea could become more expensive than importing more of the Russian- or Iranian-made buses already in use.

Turkmenistan is a relatively new market for Korean and East Asian companies; however, Samsung and LG have been present for some time. But at the meeting with more than 100 CEOs of Korean firms and international companies including LG, Samsung, Daewoo, Hyundai and Kasko in Seoul, Berdimuhammedov called for their greater participation in Turkmenistan’s national projects. In particular, the Turkmen leader announced that most favorable conditions would be given for companies willing to invest in Turkmenistan’s textile industry and in its energy sector. Exploring new gas and oil wells in the Caspian Sea was also widely discussed at the governmental level in Seoul.

In addition to efforts to attract more investment into the Turkmen economy and establish trade routes between the two countries, the sides also agreed on educational and cultural exchange. In this context, Ashgabat will host a huge Turkmen-Korean folk art festival in 2009 and more Turkmen students will be sent on exchange to Korea.

While the President’s three day visit to the Republic of Korea and his constant agreements on eternal friendship and cooperation may sound sensational from the economic and political point of view, real changes for the people of Turkmenistan are yet to be seen. Numerous structural changes have officially been declared at the national level since the current administration was sworn in but little has been done, especially in development of small businesses and privatization. The tenets of the old system of ‘one-man-rule’ from top to bottom still create many barriers to the liberalization of the economy and society, and speaking of a Korean model of economic development especially in further districts of the country may be premature.