(Eurasianet) — It seems Turkmenistan’s paramount leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov mixed pleasure with business during his recent three-day foray to Florida that concluded February 18.
Turkmen state-controlled media remained tight-lipped about the visit until the official TDH news agency published a statement February 21, headlined Turkmenistan-USA: Reliable and Strong Partners. The report indicated that Berdymukhamedov met with an array of US business executives, including the head of the Nicklaus Companies, a golf course design firm, as well as top representatives of the agricultural machinery company John Deere.
Evidently, Berdymukhamedov discussed plans to build world-class golf courses in Turkmenistan.
“The development of investment dialogue was identified as a key area of interstate cooperation, which will contribute to the expansion and strengthening of the mutually beneficial partnership between Turkmenistan and the United States,” the TDH report noted. In Florida, the Turkmen leader also apparently found time to play some golf and visit a horse farm. The TDH statement additionally contained a brief and cryptic reference to meetings with unnamed “prominent politicians.”
Berdymukhamedov’s arrival in Florida on February 16 coincided with a time when President Donald Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago compound.
In case you missed it in the Caucasus…
Iran, under pressure from the United States, is looking to bolster ties with its northern neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan. Iranian and Azerbaijani officials signed a memorandum of understanding February 23 covering the development of rail and road connections, aiming to reduce transit times on both east-west and north-south trade routes, according to a report published by Caliber.az. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held talks February 24 in Tehran with Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan. Those discussions focused on developing joint energy and infrastructure projects, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported. Pezeshkian also reiterated Iran’s intent to negotiate a strategic partnership agreement with Armenia. Papikyan additionally met with top Iranian defense officials, discussing regional security issues.
Authorities in Tbilisi are aiming to take a wrecking ball to Ilia State University, a hotbed of academic opposition to Georgian Dream government policies. Georgian Dream officials recently announced a higher-education reorganization plan that would effectively force the closure of many of Ilia State’s liberal arts degree programs. If fully implemented, the closures would mean a 90 percent reduction in the number of new students admitted for the 2026-27 academic year, compared with this year’s class of 3,770. Overall, IliaState has an enrollment of about 17,000 students. Faculty and many students describe the proposed changes as “unconstitutional” and have vowed to conduct protests. On February 24, the Georgian Foreign Ministry summonedEstonia’s ambassador in Tbilisi, Marge Mardisalu-Kahar, after the diplomat voiced support for Ilia State on social media.
Meanwhile, across the Caspian…
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan appear to be taking steps to coordinate economic development policies and diplomatic approaches. Over the past months, Kazakh and Uzbek officials have met to explore coordination in such sectors as mining, nuclear energyand trade and investment. The two sides have also met to discuss a variety of common foreign policy challenges, including constructive engagement with Afghanistan. Reflecting the strengthening of Kazakh-Uzbek ties, the number of Uzbek companies operating in Kazakhstan has reached 8,491 as of February 1, surpassing the number of Chinese entities (8,392) in the country, according to official Kazakh data.
Railway officials from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan signed a cooperation agreement February 23 to introduce more efficient procedures to reduce freight transit times, including the digitalization of customs documentation. Rail-borne cargo between the two countries in 2025 totaled 5.9 million tons, worth $1.2 billion. That represented a 15 percent increase in trade by weight over 2024’s total.
