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Today, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held a working meeting via the digital system with the participation of Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Meredov, reviewing the progress of implementation of tasks for further development of interaction with partner countries in accordance with the principles of foreign policy strategy based on the status of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan.
Opening the working meeting, the head of state considered a number of organizational issues and signed the relevant documents.
Then the floor was given to Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Meredov, who reported on the results of the recent business trips of the Turkmen delegation to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of India on behalf of the leader of the nation.
Reporting on the activities of the diplomatic service in fulfilling the tasks outlined by the President of the country in the field of developing cooperation with states that maintain historically established friendly relations with Turkmenistan, the Deputy Prime Minister informed that active negotiations are underway to increase ties with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of India, both bilaterally and in a multilateral format.
In this context, it was reported that, in accordance with the instructions of the head of state, the delegation of our country was on a working trip to the cities of New Delhi and Islamabad on December 18-20, 2021, during which its members took part in international meetings and held negotiations.
The relevance of these proposals for practical implementation of projects to unite the energy, transport and communication systems of the regions of Central and South Asia, in particular, the TAPI gas pipeline, the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman transport corridor, as well as a number of other strategic projects, was emphasized.
In the fields of the Dialogue, special attention was paid to issues related to Afghanistan. In this context, as the Deputy Prime Minister said, the main approaches have been outlined, are based on the positions of the President of Turkmenistan, set out in the framework of political meetings and high-level conferences.
The agreements reached at this meeting were set out in the final Joint Statement. It emphasizes the importance of the Ashgabat Agreement on the Creation of International Transport and Transit Corridors and the results of the International Conference “Peace and Trust Policy - the Basis of International Security, Stability and Development” for enhancing interaction between India and the countries of Central Asia. In addition, the need for implementation of the initiative of the President of Turkmenistan “Dialogue - the guarantor of peace” within the framework of international organizations has been highlighted.
Continuing his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister said that within the framework of the working trip, meetings were held with the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country, during which the readiness of Turkmenistan to develop partnerships in various fields was emphasized.
The Vice Prime Minister said that the Indian side attaches great importance to the participation of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as a guest of honor in the celebrations on the occasion of the main holiday of India - Republic Day, celebrated on January 26, 2022.
Along with this, it was reported that within the framework of the visit to Pakistan, the delegation of Turkmenistan took part in an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, held in Islamabad, during which the forthcoming tasks and concrete measures to provide humanitarian assistance toAfghanistan by the countries of the region and the world, as well as the position of Turkmenistan on assistance and restoration of the economy of the neighboring state were discussed.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that following the results of the extraordinary meeting, a Resolution on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was adopted.
It was also reported that, on behalf of the head of state Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, within the framework of the business trip, the delegation of Turkmenistan held meetings with the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Arif Alvi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country, during which the readiness of Turkmenistan to increase cooperation with a friendly state was emphasized, and issues were discussed further strengthening bilateral partnerships in various fields. The main topic of discussion was the implementation of the TAPI transnational gas pipeline and power transmission lines projects along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route.
In order to expand and substantively fill the bilateral dialogue, it was proposed to hold the 6th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, as well as create a Turkmen-Pakistani interdepartmental commission to implement the TAPI gas pipeline project.
Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Meredov assured the leader of the nation that domestic diplomats will continue to make every effort to develop cooperation of Turkmenistan with neighboring countries and those located in neighboring regions, as well as with states that traditionally maintain friendly relations with us.
The Resolution also outlines the role of the 15th Economic Cooperation Organization Summit, held on November 28th, 2021 in Ashgabat, and the final document adopted there - the Ashgabat Consensus for Action - in resolving humanitarian issues in Afghanistan, the leader of the nation said.
Continuing the topic, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov focused on the participation of the Turkmen delegation in the 3rd meeting of the Central Asia-India Dialogue held on December 19th in New Delhi, following which a Joint Statement was adopted.
The Joint Statement also notes the importance of the practical implementation of the results of the International Conference “Peace and Trust Policy - the Basis of International Security, Stability and Development” held on December 11th in Ashgabat and the initiatives put forward there, the head of state said.
As the leader of the nation emphasized, neutral Turkmenistan, together with Pakistan and India, as well as within the framework of cooperation in a multilateral format, is carrying out important work to promote its constructive proposals aimed at ensuring global peace and development.
The implementation of large-scale and long-term economic projects initiated by Turkmenistan will not only create conditions for sustainable development of the participating countries, but will also contribute to ensuring prosperity in the region, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
In this regard, the head of state noted that work will continue to further strengthen multifaceted cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of India for the benefit of our peoples.
Summing up the results of the digital working meeting, the President of Turkmenistan instructed Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Meredov to purposefully continue the policy of Turkmen diplomacy in the context of the neutrality of our country.
