President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani had a telephone conversation. Warmly welcoming the Afghan colleague, the Turkmen leader congratulated President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on his re-election as the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, wishing him every success in his responsible work. Thanking for congratulations and good wishes, the President of Afghanistan emphasized that his country sincerely valued relations with independent neutral Turkmenistan and highly appreciated the peace-loving foreign policy pursued by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, which is the most important factor in maintaining geopolitical balance, peace and security in the region. The parties expressed satisfaction with the tendency of enhancing Turkmen-Afghan cooperation, built on the principles of good-neighborliness and equality, in both bilateral and multilateral formats, observed in recent years. Fruitful cooperation between neighboring states is carried out, first of all, in the spheres of trade, economy, fuel and energy sector, and transport and communications. According to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the favorable geographical position of the two countries is of great importance in the implementation of strategic projects for the formation of new transit and transport corridors. As vividly proved by a new joint project - the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey corridor, aimed at enhancing the trade and economic ties between the states of the region, as well as increasing trade turnover between the countries of Central and South Asia and Europe. The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expressed gratitude to the Turkmen leader for the assistance provided to the Afghan people in building up a peaceful life. In this regard, the President of Afghanistan expressed confidence that the approaches proposed by the President of Turkmenistan to solve the Afghan problems, the major transport and communication projects initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, would become an invaluable contribution to the peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, strengthening the foundations of stability and security, and sustainable social and economic development of the entire region. The cultural and humanitarian sphere, which stands as another factor in bringing our peoples together, carefully preserving the national traditions, one of which is Novruz, was specified as an important vector of interstate cooperation. In this regard, the heads of the two neighboring countries exchanged congratulations on this holiday. During the telephone conversation, the leaders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan discussed the issues of the regional and international importance. The Turkmen leader invited the President of Afghanistan to attend the upcoming conference and international events on occasion of the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutrality in December this year. The invitation was accepted. In conclusion, Presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Mohammad Ashraf Gani exchanged good wishes to each other and the peoples of the both countries. The telephone conversation took place on the initiative of the Afghan side.