On August 24, 2023, an online-meeting was held between the heads of administrations of the Balkan velayat and the Astrakhan region.

The meeting was attended by the russian side - the Governor of the Astrakhan region, the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of the region, from the Turkmen side - the khakim of the Balkan velayat and the deputy chairman of the “Turkmendenizderyayollary” agency. During the meeting, the russian side noted that Turkmenistan is one of the main international partners of the Astrakhan region. In particular, the head of the region emphasized that for the Astrakhan region, which is the most important participant in the North-South ITC, the development of cargo transportation in the Caspian Sea is of particular importance. This will be facilitated by the organization of a regular shipping line between the ports of the Astrakhan region and the International Sea Port of Turkmenbashi. Also, the shipbuilding industry was singled out as one of the key areas for cooperation. The russian side stated that the Astrakhan yards could assemble the ship hulls, and then they could be transported to the port of Turkmenbashi and retrofitted at the “Balkan” shipbuilding and repairing yard.

In addition, during the meeting, directions for the development of tourism were discussed. In particular, it was noted that the ship "Петр Великий", which will begin to make tourist routes in 2024 along the Caspian Sea and  will also make routes to Turkmenistan, as well as issues of simplifying the visa regime for Russian tourists.

At the end of the meeting, the Governor of the Astrakhan region invited the Turkmen side on a working visit to the Astrakhan region in order to intensify ties between the cities of Astrakhan and Turkmenbashi and consider opportunities for cooperation in this area. In turn, the khakim of the Balkan velayat spoke in detail about the future transport and logistics opportunities of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport and noted that in this regard, efforts will be made to develop cooperation with the Astrakhan region.