Today, Ashgabat has hosted a meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian Commission on Economic Cooperation.

The agenda included a wide range of issues related to the prospects for further expansion of mutually beneficial partnerships in such priority areas as trade, economic, financial and banking sectors, fuel and energy complex, transport and communications, logistics, industry, agriculture and other fields of mutual interest.

The topic discussed was also certain aspects of the Turkmen-Russian cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian area, in particular, in the fields of education, healthcare, science and culture, where the interaction has a traditional, systematic nature.

The parties positively assessed the work carried out to implement the previously reached agreements and confirmed the interest of the two countries in stepping up productive relations based on centuries-old traditions of sincere friendship and good neighborliness.

During the meeting, which continued in an enlarged composition, with the participation of the heads of some ministries and departments, the implementation progress of important joint projects was discussed, and a number of concrete steps were outlined to diversify cooperation, which has huge potential and is built on the principles of mutual benefit and maximum consideration of the interests of our states.

The parties pointed out with satisfaction the productivity of the established inter-parliamentary relations, thanks to which a solid legal framework has been formed in many respects, which is regularly updated with important international documents.

It was noted with pleasure that recent years have been characterized by consistently high dynamics of growth in the volume of trade between Turkmenistan and Russia, which are taking real steps to diversify the product range of mutual export-import operations.

The accumulated solid experience of many years of successful joint work testifies to the firm intention of the parties to steadily build up wide-ranging cooperation. Today, certain regions, large industrial and cultural centers, including the Republic of Tatarstan, the Astrakhan and Sverdlovsk Regions, the city of St. Petersburg, and other subjects of the Russian Federation, are involved in this area, contacts with which allow for determining the actual fields of joint interests and efforts in terms of more complete realization of the potential of interstate relations.

The need for further stepping up mutual activities in order to expand humanitarian cooperation was especially emphasized, in particular, the importance of implementing projects to establish the Turkmen-Russian University and the construction of a new building of the Pushkin Russian Drama Theater in Ashgabat.

Emphasizing the exceptional importance of organizing regular bilateral meetings, political consultations and business negotiations, the members of the Russian delegation, which arrived in Turkmenistan led by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk, expressed appreciation to the Turkmen party for the favorable conditions created for work and expressed confidence that the agreements reached would give a new impulse to a constructive dialogue in the interests of the two countries and their friendly peoples, united by a common history, cultural and spiritual values.