OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2008. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Viktor Zubkov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Co-Chairman of the Turkmen-Russian intergovernmental commission of economic co-operation discussed the current issues of the bilateral relations this week.

Thanking the Turkmen leader for the opportunity of a personal meeting the guest conveyed the warm greeting son behalf of RF President Dmitriy Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the congratulations and best wishes for the Muslim holiday of Kurban Bayramy. Viktor Zubkov conveyed the invitation on behalf of the RF President to visit Russia at any convenient time.

Greeting the guest and thanking for the invitation Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov focused on the significance that Turkmenistan attached to the development of overall co-operation with Russia. The President informed that he intended to visit Moscow next March and to discuss the aspects of further collaboration on the basis of the bilateral potential and new tasks during the talks. In this regard the Turkmen leader highly appreciated the role of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian commission as an effective mechanism for implementing the profound potential of partnership proved by the growth of the trade turnover which exceeded USD 6.6 billion in the past six months.

Expressing gratitude for the high appreciation of the Commission’s work Viktor Zubkov informed Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of the results of the recent meeting of the Commission. The RF First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the meeting had been held in the atmosphere of sincere constructive discussion of the agenda items.

Focusing with satisfaction at the high level of the intergovernmental dialogue that was conditioned to a larger extent by the good personal relations between the leaders of Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation the sides discussed the current issues of bilateral co-operation focusing on the implementation of the previous agreements and the opportunities of expanding mutually advantageous contacts. Fuel and energy co-operation standing as a priority trend in Turkmen-Russian partnership was a focus of the talks. The sides put emphasis on the partners’ adherence to diversification of trade and economic co-operation through developing the other sectors of the domestic economy. Viktor Zubkov said that more Russian companies expressed the willingness to operate on the very promising Turkmen market.

The sides mentioned transport and communication as the priority fields of co-operation on the basis of the large-scale regional and international projects implemented in Turkmenistan. In this context the sides discussed the issues of constructing a train ferry between Turkmenbashi port and Russia’s seaports on the Caspian Sea and the opportunities of Russia’s collaboration in the project on construction of Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Iran railway which would connect these countries with the northern neighbour.

The vast opportunities for co-operation were provided in the agro-industrial sector including cultivation of various agricultural crops, procurement of agricultural equipment and exchange of specialists. In this regard Viktor Zubkov highly appreciated the Turkmen leader’s initiative to hold the CIS agricultural forum in Ashgabat in 2009 which would provide new opportunities of co-operation in this strategic field.

Educational partnership was a focus of the talks. In this field Turkmenistan and Russia demonstrated absolute understanding of the mutual interests and steadily intensified fruitful collaboration.

In conclusion Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Viktor Zubkov expressed belief that Turkmen-Russian partnership would be successfully fostered and focused on the invariable adherence of two countries and peoples to the ties of friendship, mutual understanding and confidence.