OREANDA-NEWS. February 09, 2010. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, who had arrived in Ashgabat leading a representative delegation to participate in a regular meeting of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Indian commission for trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

Expressing gratitude for the opportunity of a personal meeting the distinguished guest conveyed on behalf President of India Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the heartfelt greetings and wishes of peace, welfare and prosperity to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the people of Turkmenistan for. Minister Preneet Kaur said that she was very glad to have an opportunity to visit Ashgabat, the beauty of which had conquered her from the first minutes. Underscoring the effectiveness of the successful intergovernmental relations the guest said that the Turkmen and Indian people were bound with the traditions friendship and age-old historical and cultural affinities. Minister Prehnite Kaur said that the glorious pages in the history of India had been written by a great son of the Turkmen people Bayram Khan, whose heritage was profoundly revered and worshipped by the Indian people.

Thanking for the kind words the Turkmen leader expressed the heartfelt wishes to the Government and people of the friendly country. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that India remained an important partner of Turkmenistan that paid particular attention to the development of the Turkmen-Indian dialogue based on mutual respect, confidence and positive partnership.

During the meeting the President and his guest exchanged views on a wide range of the issues of bilateral cooperation specifying the priorities at the current stage. In this regard Ms. Preneet Kaur presented the agenda of the third meeting of the Turkmen-Indian intergovernmental commission to the Turkmen leader. Focusing on India’s keen interest in expanding fruitful cooperation with Turkmenistan she noted that this was illustrated by the membership of the Indian government delegation, which had arrived in Ashgabat, representing the leading Indian companies.

Discussing the promising fields of partnership the Turkmen leader and his guest specified the trade and economic, energy, tourism sectors and humanitarian cooperation, particularly in the spheres of education and health care. The focus of the conversation was the ways of cooperation in the information technology sector, where India had made significant progress and stood ready to offer its expertise and innovations of Turkmenistan.

In conclusion the Turkmen leader wished the effective work to the participants of the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission that was to facilitate the search for the optimal forms and intensify mutually advantageous Turkmen-Indian partnership. The President and the Minister of State for External Affairs of the Republic of India expressed belief that constructive bilateral cooperation, which had the profound potential and vast opportunities for implementation, would be successfully developed further. 

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to Turkmenistan Mohammad Afzal attended the meeting.