On May 23, 2025, Professor Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Türkiye, paid a working visit to Ashgabat, where he met with Deputy Chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, B. Orazdurdyýewa, and Minister of Education, C. Gurbangeldiýew. During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing cooperation in the field of higher education between the two countries.
The discussions centred particularly on the joint initiatives to be implemented under the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Higher Education signed between the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and the Turkish Council of Higher Education on October 26, 2023.
During the meeting, Professor Özvar presented several cooperation proposals to the Turkmen side. These included the opening of branch campuses of Turkish universities in Turkmenistan and the development of joint academic programmes, to be formalised under a new Memorandum of Understanding. He also proposed allocating additional quotas for Turkmen students to pursue higher education in Türkiye. Furthermore, the possibility of sharing Türkiye’s expertise in digital education and its advancements in artificial intelligence technologies was discussed. Lastly, proposals were made for joint academic research on Turkish and Turkmen literature, history, culture, and the political, economic, and cultural life of both nations.
Based on these proposals, the two sides decided to draft a Roadmap for the years 2025–2026, which they will share through diplomatic channels.
Finally, Deputy Chairperson Orazdurdyýewa extended an invitation to the representatives of the Turkish Council of Higher Education to attend the International Exhibition and Scientific Conference on Healthcare, Education, and Sports, to be held in Ashgabat in October.