One of the important events, which took place on August 6 in Avaza national tourist zone and dated for the Consultative meeting of heads of the states of Central Asia, held under the chairmanship of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, was the Economic forum of the countries of the region. As it was already informed, members of governments, heads of ministries and branch departments, representatives of financial organisations, private business, other corresponding structures, and also mass media of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kirghiz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan took part in it.

The forum which became an open platform for discussion of key vectors and prospects of interstate cooperation, concrete definition of paramount tasks in the given direction and developments of their balanced solutions, also evoked a genuine interest in the international community.

«Turkmenistan is interested in closer economic and scientific and technical cooperation with its partners», as it is marked in the message of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in which readiness of our state to share its gained experience again proves to be true, and also together to work on the major aspects of modern development.

The distinctive factor of the Forum which took place the past week in Avaza national tourist zone was that it took place amidst serious calls, making direct impact on economy of all countries and regions, including Central Asia. It causes a special urgency of problems on development of joint plans and concrete steps directed not only to minimisation of negative consequences of crisis, but also on an access to a steady trajectory of economic growth, maintenance of conditions for realisation of programs of social development, performance of plans of integration interaction according to the agreements reached by leaders of the regional countries.

The major aspect of economic growth of the countries of the region President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov also named an access to external relations, first of all to the neighbouring states to which one can suggest to take part in joint projects in energy, transport, trade spheres. In the given context it was offered to think over creation of target channels of partner dialogue on economic relations and infrastructural projects of the countries of Central Asia with Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, other interested states of the Middle East and South Asia.

As deputy chairman of the Cabinet S.Berdimuhamedov noted in his speech, here among unconditional priorities Turkmenistan allocates transport and energy spheres. The generality of sights and approaches to these directions of partnership creates for Central Asian states due preconditions for practical interaction. It is a question of achievement of the two-uniform purpose: first, adjustment of effective cooperation in region, secondly, about high-grade embedding in continental and world economy relations as an important subject of modern geo-economy.

In this context it was underpinned necessity as much as possible to use objective competitive advantages available for our countries - benefits of geographical arrangement on the crossing of strategic Eurasian routes, extensive resources -raw potential, structural compatibility on variety of parameters in economic development.

As actual tasks were also defined strengthening and expansion in the region of trade and economic cooperation, optimisation of its mechanisms. Based upon good joint experience and traditions of good neighbourhood, it is necessary to give to partnership relations new impulses, to create and actively to use channels of interaction between business communities, to encourage investments in the region, to promote frontier trading-commercial activity.

Participants of the Forum developed a number of the recommendations directed to achievement of stable and balanced economic growth, expansion and effective utilisation of potential of the states of Central Asia in interests of strengthening of their economy and developments of good-neighbourhood, on integration and activization of mutually beneficial partnership of the countries of the region which were stated in the Final document.

It is necessary to note that within the Economic forum bilateral meetings between heads of ministries and departments, state and private enterprises of Turkmenistan and their potential partners in which course perspective directions of interaction and concrete projects were discussed, also took place.

Representatives of business circles of our country concluded 74 export-import contracts and agreements on cooperation for a total sum about 131,5 million US dollars with the companies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, including deliveries of production of agriculture and food-processing industry, plastic pipes, various polymeric products, rendering of transport services and others.

On the side-lines of the Economic forum of the countries of Central Asia 11 important interdepartmental documents which confirmed intention of the parties to expand mutually beneficial partnership on a number of key directions, in particular, in the field of transport, international container and multimodal cargo transportation, industry, oil and gas sector and electric power spheres, were signed.

Thus, the present Forum which took place in the year «Turkmenistan – homeland of peace and trust», marked by the 30^th anniversary of sacred independence of Fatherland, put a basis of a new format of the subject and systematic interstate cooperation designed for long-term prospect and achievement of concrete results.