«Turkmen Energy»: 

— Mr. Slovinski, you have engaged with Turkmenistan through The Investor and participated in Turkmen Energy Forum platforms. How would you describe your overall experience? 

Leandro Slovinski:

— My relationship with Turkmenistan has been one of the most rewarding of my editorial career. We have successfully launched a dedicated edition on Turkmenistan as part of our Central Asia series, and the results exceeded all expectations. The Investor Turkmenistan has recorded close to one million readers worldwide, which reflects the extraordinary level of international interest in this country today. My participation at Turkmen Energy Forum platforms has deepened this relationship considerably. These events create a rare environment where foreign investors and Turkmen stakeholders can engage directly, honestly and constructively. 

«Turkmen Energy»: 

— The Investor published a dedicated edition on Turkmenistan that generated significant global attention. What drove this success? 

Leandro Slovinski: 

— What made this edition genuinely special was the level of institutional engagement we received. Through our official collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Embassy of Turkmenistan in France, we were honoured to have the participation of Ministers, Ambassadors and the leaders of the most important local and international companies operating in the country. 

More than a readership, we have cultivated a community of over 165,000 verified investors across 48 countries, whose combined investment capacity exceeds 60 billion US dollars. When we present a market to this audience, the conversations that follow are serious ones. 

The main objective of this edition was to highlight Turkmenistan’s investment opportunities and position the country as an attractive destination. With that audience and that purpose, the quality of the editorial content had to match the ambition. There is also a growing appetite among international investors for markets like Turkmenistan, where the scale of opportunity is matched by a clear government commitment to long-term development. When we publish a serious guide on a market with this level of potential, it travels far beyond what traditional distribution alone would suggest. 

«Turkmen Energy»: 

— What are the most compelling investment opportunities in Turkmenistan’s energy sector today?

Leandro Slovinski:

 — The scale of the resource base never stops being impressive, even for someone who has spent years covering energy markets. Galkynysh, together with the neighbouring fields of Garakol and Yashlar, holds an estimated 27.4 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world for proven natural gas reserves. That is the foundation everything else is built on. 

At OGT 2025, State Minister of Turkmenistan – Chairman of Turkmengaz State Concern Maksat Babayev confirmed that the EPC contract for Phase IV of Galkynysh development, adding a further 10 billion cubic metres per year of processing capacity, begins in 2026, financed entirely from Turkmenistan’s own resources. That detail tells you something about the country’s financial confidence and its commitment to the long-term plan. With seven phases of development mapped out in total, this field alone represents decades of serious investment activity.

TAPI is the project our investor community asks about most. Turkmenistan completed its own 214-kilometre section in 2024, and construction of the Afghan section is now underway, with completion targeted by end of 2026. When operational, it will carry 33 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. 

On the downstream side, the Turkmenbashi Oil Processing Complex has had over two billion dollars invested in modernisation and is producing polymers, fertilisers and specialty chemicals to international standards. An investment programme was approved for 2026 of approximately 11.4 billion dollars, with industrial diversification as an explicit priority. Turkmenistan has already cut methane emissions by 11 percent in cooperation with the United Nations, is targeting 30 percent by 2030, and has significant renewable energy capacity coming online through 2028. The investors we work with are paying close attention to this. 

«Turkmen Energy»:

 — How do you assess Turkmenistan’s role in global energy security? 

Leandro Slovinski: 

— Turkmenistan’s energy strategy rests on three principles that resonate across boardrooms and ministries alike: diversification of flows, security of supply, and mutual benefit. Over 30 billion cubic metres of gas flow annually to China through one of the world’s longest pipeline networks, on schedule, year after year, without interruption. The Central Asia-China Pipeline is one of the great infrastructure success stories of the past two decades, and Turkmenistan is its anchor. For European energy planners looking for that same quality of long-term supply discipline, the precedent is already there. 

Following its commitment to the Global Methane Pledge at COP28, the country deployed satellite monitoring across «Turkmengaz» production units and reported significant progress in monitoring and reducing emissions across the network. For European institutions that must meet strict import-emission standards, this commitment to measurement and transparency is increasingly important.

«Turkmen Energy»: 

— You have personally participated in major international events organised by Turkmen Energy Investment Forum, including OGT 2025. How do you assess their role in attracting investment and shaping international perception? 

Leandro Slovinski: 

— There is a specific moment at OGT 2025 that stays with me. I was sitting across from a senior executive from a European infrastructure fund, someone who had never visited Ashgabat before, and watching his entire mental model of the country shift in real time. Not because of a presentation. Because of the room itself, the people in it, and the quality of the conversations happening around him. That is what these forums do that no report or roadmap can  replicate. 

Turkmen Energy Investment Forum understands that investors make decisions based on trust, and trust requires proximity. OGT creates that proximity and offers access to decision-makers at a level that is genuinely rare. Events like this also give us direct insight into how ministers think, how international partners respond, and where the real momentum is. That quality of understanding is what our readers rely on us to deliver, and Ashgabat consistently gives us that. 

«Turkmen Energy»: 

— How important is international media engagement in attracting investment? 

Leandro Slovinski: 

— Honestly, more important than most governments give it credit for. There is an assumption I run into constantly: that investors find opportunities through financial channels, through bankers and brokers and deal flow networks. Sometimes that is true. But perception is formed much earlier than that. By the time a serious investor is sitting across from a minister, they have already decided whether the country feels credible. International media is largely responsible for that feeling. 

What I have seen in Central Asia specifically is that the countries pulling in the most sophisticated capital are not always the ones with the strongest fundamentals on paper. They are the ones whose story is being told well, consistently, in publications that the right people actually read. A well-placed interview with a minister reaches someone who was never going to attend a roadshow, at a moment when they are genuinely paying attention. 

That is the logic behind The Investor series. Our readers are not a general audience. They are fund managers, development finance executives, institutional investors, government advisers. When Turkmenistan appears in our pages, it is not visibility for its own sake. It is a direct conversation with people who have capital ready and are looking for somewhere they feel confident putting it. 

I always say the same thing to ministers who ask me where to start: tell your story before someone else tells it for you. The countries that take their international narrative seriously, that treat it with the same rigour they apply to infrastructure planning, are the ones that stop waiting for investment and start attracting it.

«Turkmen Energy»:  

 — What are your future plans regarding Turkmenistan? 

 Leandro Slovinski: 

— We are committed to Turkmenistan for the long term. We will launch another edition of The Investor Turkmenistan in 2026, as we believe the country is at an inflection point in terms of international visibility and investor interest. 

We are also developing an intelligence platform focused on Central Asian business opportunities, and Turkmenistan will be a central part of it. This platform will give investors continuous, curated insight into markets like Turkmenistan rather than a snapshot every two years. The appetite for that kind of ongoing coverage is real. The investors in our network do not want to wait for the next forum or the next publication cycle. They want to understand what is moving now. 

And personally, I want to keep coming back. There is something about the pace of change here that is genuinely compelling to watch up close. Every visit I have a different conversation than the one before, and that is usually a good sign. It means things are moving. 

Editorial Note 

Beyond Investments Group is an independent publisher of premium investment intelligence, headquartered in Paris and Dubai, with a presence across London, New York and Shanghai. For over two decades, the Group has produced The Investor series, a collection of government-endorsed editions covering emerging and high-growth markets across more than 30 countries, from Central Asia and the Gulf to Southeast Asia and Latin America. 

The Investor reaches a global network of 165,000 verified decision-makers across 48 countries, with 76% holding senior executive positions and over half serving as Chairman, President or CEO. With an estimated $60 billion in available capital represented within its readership, the publication operates as a direct channel between sovereign markets and the international investment community. 

Each edition is produced in official partnership with the host country’s government and carries a foreword by the head of state. The Investor is distributed across print, digital, mobile and a 200,000-subscriber newsletter, with past editions reaching close to one million readers in a single cycle.