The working visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the People's Republic of China ended today.

As already reported, on the 18^th of October, Hero-Arkadag, at the invitation of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, took part in the Third High-Level Forum «One Belt, One Road». In his speech, the National Leader of the Turkmen people confirmed the active and proactive position of Turkmenistan in the development of mutually beneficial constructive international cooperation, focusing on such strategic areas as energy, transport and communications, ecology, introduction of «green» technologies into industry and other sectors, deepening integration processes in the economy as a whole.

Today, on the final day of the working visit, a meeting between Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping took place.

The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan arrived at the House of the People of China, where he was warmly welcomed by the leader of a friendly country.

Before the meeting, Hero-Arkadag and the Chairman of the People's Republic of China were photographed on the background of the State flags of Turkmenistan and the People's Republic of China.

Thanking the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for participating in the Third Forum «One Belt and One Road» and noting that he was very pleased to welcome him to China, Chairman Xi Jinping noted the progressive dynamics of interstate cooperation, based on historically established ties of friendship and with solid multifaceted potential.

As noted, a new effective step towards the development of bilateral relations was the state visit of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to the People's Republic of China in January of this year.

As a result of the negotiations held in Beijing, important agreements were reached and an impressive package of documents was signed. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the leader of the People's Republic of China conveyed warm words of greetings and best wishes to the head of Turkmenistan.

Once again thanking the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for accepting the invitation to visit Beijing, Chairman Xi Jinping emphasized that China attaches great importance to cooperation with Turkmenistan, highly values and supports its creative international initiatives.

Expressing gratitude to Chairman Xi Jinping for the invitation to visit the PRC, Hero-Arkadag noted that the traditions of Turkmen-Chinese friendship can be traced for more than two thousand years, rooted in the distant past. Both countries and their peoples were closely connected by the Great Silk Road. It is well known that this legendary route, which ran through the territory of Central Asia from China to Europe, became a factor in the development and progress of the entire world civilization.

Focusing on the topic of ensuring sustainable development in the region, the National Leader of the Turkmen people emphasized the importance of efforts to combine Turkmenistan’s strategy «Revival of the Great Silk Road» with China’s «One Belt, One Road» initiative. Over the years, this initiative has contributed to strengthening trade and cultural ties in the Eurasian space.

In this way, the peoples of Turkmenistan and the PRC have centuries-old friendly relations, vast experience of interaction and good neighbourliness. Starting from Oguz-han, considered the ancestor of our people, there was a custom in the Turkmen states to meet foreign ambassadors with «paradise» Ahal-Teke horses at the border, said Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

So, the Parthians met at the border a delegation led by Zhang Xiang, the ambassador of the Chinese Emperor Wu Ding, with 20,000 horsemen.

Continuing the topic, the National Leader of the Turkmen people noted that among diplomatic gifts, the horse was the most valuable gift. At that time, the ancestors of the world famous horses, called «heavenly» horses, were sent as a gift by Parthia to the emperors of China, called the «Kingdom of Heaven».

The ancient Turkmens-Gunns are the descendants of Gun-han, the eldest son of Oguz-han. The Gunns in Europe are called «Kuns». The words «gun» and «hun» mean «sun». The Hunns occupied vast territories from the vast deserts of northwestern China to Siberia. Mete-han, the ruler of the Great Hunnic state of the Oguz Turkmen, had good relations with the Chinese emperors, Hero-Arkadag emphasized.

In addition, the Göktürkmen State, which existed in the 6th century, maintained close ties with the people of China. Led by Bilge-han, this state achieved even greater prosperity. Then the Chinese ambassador Meyluchzhou suggested that Bilge-han strengthen close and fraternal relations. The Tang Emperor Xuan Zong also wanted to conclude an agreement with Bilge-han.

History also shows the existence of trade relations between the Huns, who lived next to China, and the Chinese Han dynasty. During the reign of Mete-han, relations were established between the two countries in terms of studying each other’s experience, noted the National Leader of the Turkmen people.

As a specific example, Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov cited the fact that in 49 BC The Hunns, who are the ancestors of the current Turkmens, signed an agreement with the ruler of China, called the «Oath Agreement». He regulated relations between two powerful states. The agreement stated that the Hunns and Chinese were like one family, it stated: «Let our sons and grandsons be faithful to this agreement from generation to generation».

Speaking about this, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty also noted that China and the Hunns have established diplomatic correspondence to ensure the implementation of previous agreements. Chinese sources preserve some letters from the great Xiongnu ruler Mete-han, which he wrote to the Chinese ruler Xiao Wen.

One of the literary evidence of ongoing ties between the Turkmen and Chinese peoples, starting from the epoch of the Great Silk Road, are the following lines from the famous destan of our people «Hurlukga-Hemra»: «A caravan has arrived from the province of Chin-Machin».

Reiterating that our countries and peoples are united by centuries-old bonds of friendship, Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov thanked Chairman Xi Jinping for the opportunity to meet, as well as for the cordiality and hospitality provided.

As Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty noted, meetings with the head of the People's Republic of China are always significant events in relations between Turkmenistan and the People's Republic of China. They provide an opportunity to exchange views on the state of interstate relations, identify the most important topics that require special attention, and give bilateral contacts the necessary impetus.

Hero-Arkadag noted with satisfaction the high level of mutual trust, mutual understanding and openness achieved in recent years under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Turkmen-Chinese relations. The strategic partnership between our countries is characterized by a progressive, steady and targeted nature across the entire spectrum of areas. By developing and expanding it, we invariably rely on the historical ties of friendship and good neighbourliness of the Turkmen and Chinese peoples, their deep mutual sympathy and respect for each other, the closeness of the positions of the two states on key issues of modern international politics, a strong legal basis for cooperation, powerful mutual economic potential, noted the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty.

This nature of interaction, responding to the fundamental interests of Turkmenistan and China, makes a noticeable constructive contribution to the preservation and strengthening of international stability and security, contributes to the solution of a number of pressing regional issues, and is an important factor in accelerating and expanding trade and economic processes on the Asian continent.

At the same time, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty confirmed that Turkmenistan is firmly committed to further strengthening fraternal, friendly ties with China and is ready to continue joint work in the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Taking this opportunity, Hero-Arkadag conveyed cordial greetings from the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Chairman Xi Jinping, and also addressed wishes for peace, well-being and prosperity to the Chinese people.

Continuing the meeting, the National Leader of the Turkmen people and the head of the PRC discussed the key vectors of Turkmen-Chinese cooperation, built with a long-term perspective and developing in an ascending line, both on a bilateral and multilateral basis, including in the «Central Asia-China» format.

In the context of optimal use of the existing impressive potential in the trade and economic sphere, the role of the Turkmen-Chinese intergovernmental committee, designed to promote the expansion and diversification of a productive partnership, was noted.

The transport and logistics sector was also identified as a priority area of cooperation. In this regard, Chairman Xi Jinping emphasized the relevance and demand of the initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan aimed at building up effective regional and international partnership in this strategic area. At the same time, the importance of interaction was noted in the context of the implementation of the «Revival of the Great Silk Road» and «One Belt, One Road» strategies, their coupling and complementarity.

An integral component of Turkmen-Chinese relations is also the cultural and humanitarian area, where there is many years of positive experience of joint work.

Noting that he always remembers his visit to Turkmenistan with warmth, the head of the PRC invited Hero-Arkadag to visit China again.

At the end of the negotiations, in the presence of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the Chairman of the PRC Xi Jinping, bilateral documents were signed.

In particular, the following were signed: an Agreement between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the People's Republic of China on technical and economic cooperation and a Memorandum of Understanding between the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China on cooperation in strengthening the capacity of the Authorized Economic Operator Program.

From the House of the People, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan proceeded to Beijing «Shoudu» International Airport. At the air harbour of Hero-Arkadag, the Minister of Natural Resources of the PRC Wang Guanghua and other officials saw off. Having said a warm farewell to the representatives of the Chinese side, National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov boarded the plane waiting for him, on which he departed for his homeland.

Upon arrival at Ashgabat International Airport, Hero-Arkadag was met by officials.

Here, a representative of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Turkmenistan congratulated the National Leader of the Turkmen people on his successful visit to the PRC. As noted, the participation of Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in the Third High-Level Forum «One Belt, One Road» indicates Turkmenistan’s proactive and responsible approach to developing solutions to pressing issues in the development of regional and international cooperation that meets the interests of universal peace, prosperity and progress.

Confidence was also expressed that the working visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan to the People's Republic of China will serve to further strengthen and expand the traditional interstate dialogue based on historical ties, mutual goodwill of the parties and the principles of equal strategic partnership.

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As part of the working visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the People's Republic of China, meetings of members of the official delegation of our country with the heads of the relevant ministries and departments of the PRC, including the MFA, the fuel and energy sector, transport and communications, education, science, health and sports.

It was noted that China, being a major trading partner of Turkmenistan, intends to continue to develop bilateral relations in order to promote a multifaceted partnership and maintain close ties at a high level.

A wide range of issues of political and diplomatic interaction, as well as cooperation in the trade and economic sphere, were considered.

The parties were unanimous in their opinion on the need to establish regular meetings to maintain an active dialogue and practical implementation of joint initiatives in the field of trade, transport and communication systems, medicine and healthcare, scientific and technological innovation, digital economy, etc.