Turkmenistan Trade Desk: The State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange recorded 18 deals last week, with foreign-currency purchases by firms from Türkiye and India including wheat flour and liquorice root extract (over $531k), while domestic buyers snapped up liquorice products, cotton yarn and fibre, raw silk, cotton waste and glass containers (over 328.8m manats). Central Asia–Korea Push: Seoul is ramping up ties ahead of the first Korea–Central Asia summit on Sept. 16-17, with President Lee Jae-myung holding bilateral talks (including with Uzbekistan) on critical minerals, AI, digital transformation, transport and defense, and a ministerial meeting agreeing to expand industrial complexes, smart infrastructure and processing tech. Turkmenistan–UN Water Cooperation: In Avaza, Turkmenistan hosted Central Asian consultations on an implementation mechanism for the UN Special Program for the Aral Sea Basin, with UNDP/GEF support, as countries moved toward financing and legal/operational arrangements. Labor Links: Turkmenistan’s trade union center began its first official delegation visit to Kazakhstan, signing an MoU to institutionalize social dialogue, worker protection and labor cooperation, including digital approaches. Domestic Industry & Skills: Ashgabat approved digital-economy and AI-focused scientific forums, while Dashoguz saw industrial-scale rolled roofing felt production using locally sourced bitumen via the exchange.