Turkmenistan FM visits Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers/Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov visited Islamabad on January 15-16, 2018, on the invitation of Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

The Turkmen foreign minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising minister of energy, state minister and chairman of TurkmenGas, chairman and CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company Limited as well as experts and senior officials from other sectors.

The ministers led their respective sides to the inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkmenistan Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC). Both the ministers expressed satisfaction on the current level of bilateral relationship between the two countries and agreed that both the sides need to make efforts to further enhance economic relations through joint ventures in agriculture, textile, livestock and IT sector.

The two countries were also focused on measures for enhanced connectivity including air and land linkages to promote trade, travel, tourism and people-to-people contacts.

The ministers acknowledged the importance of early implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project. Both sides also reviewed implementation of decisions of the Joint Governmental Commission (JGC) held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on August 17-18, 2017.

Minister Meredov later paid courtesy calls on the president and prime minister of Pakistan. He conveyed the greetings of leadership of Turkmenistan to the president and the prime minister. The Turkmen foreign minister also handed over an invitation from the president of Turkmenistan to the president of Pakistan for the link-up ceremony of TAPI being planned in 2018.

Pakistan and Turkmenistan enjoy close, cordial relations marked by trust and understanding. These ties are characterized by mutual respect, shared perceptions and common desire to promote peace, stability and development in the region. The two countries also cooperate closely in the regional and multilateral fora.