Today, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar, who arrived in Turkmenistan led his country’s government delegation.

Thanking for the time given for the audience and emphasizing the importance attached in Kazakhstan to strengthening ties with Turkmenistan, the guest conveyed warm greetings and best wishes from the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the head of state Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The Turkmen leader conveyed greetings in return to his Kazakh counterpart, highlighting that Kazakhstan has been and remains an important, time-tested partner for our country, cooperation with which is built on a long-term, mutually beneficial basis. We sincerely value the mutually respectful interstate relations established over these years and attach great importance to their development in a bilateral and multilateral format, the President of Turkmenistan said, expressing confidence that the constructive dialogue between the two neighboring countries will continue to expand progressively.

During the discussion of the state and prospects of Turkmen-Kazakh cooperation, there were touched upon issues of implementation of agreements reached during the state visit of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Ashgabat last year and the meeting of the leaders of the two countries on the sidelines of the 3^rd Consultative Forum of the Heads of Central Asian States.

It was stated the importance of the activities of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Kazakh Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in terms of defining new vectors of interstate dialogue.

During the conversation, the Turkmen leader and his guest also exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation in the trade and economic sphere, noting with satisfaction that last year, in comparison with 2020, the trade turnover between the countries doubled, and at the same time there is a huge potential for its further expansion.

Focusing on the importance of intensifying trade and economic ties, the interlocutors underlined the need to implement existing opportunities, increase the volume of mutual trade, stimulate investment activity, establish close contacts between the business communities of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

They also discussed mutual interest in expanding interstate dialogue in the cultural and humanitarian sphere as a fundamental factor in strengthening peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

As the President of Turkmenistan emphasized, developing bilateral ties, we rely on the long-standing traditions of brotherhood and mutual sympathy of peoples, the commitment of our states to the principles of peacefulness and humanism. This is a good basis for cooperation and mutual understanding of important issues of global and regional development, where our countries have similar or analogous approaches.

At the end of the meeting, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar expressed confidence that the Turkmen-Kazakh relations will continue to develop successfully for the benefit of the two friendly peoples.