OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2010. The talks with the Personal Representatives Vytautas Nauduzas, Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Transport Issues and Struan Stevenson, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Ecology and Environment were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. Head of the Economic and Ecological Division of the OSCE Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Maxim Solin attended the meeting.

The focus of the talks was the issues related to achieving environmental security and developing transport and transit infrastructure in the Central Asian region. It was noted during the meeting that the world community had welcomed the initiatives put forward by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to ensure sustainable development and achieve environmental security at the regional and global levels.

Emphasis was put on the importance of Turkmenistan’s experience in implementing the national projects aimed at reclamation of land and prevention of salinization of soil, improvement of irrigation technologies, restoration of degraded grading and forest lands and establishing the national system for monitoring natural, land and water resources. In this regard the sides underscored the importance of the Altyn Asyr Turkmen Lake project implemented through applying scientific and technological advances.

The development of transport and communication infrastructure, in particular construction of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway that was an outlet to the Persian Gulf, would considerably contribute to the social and economic progress of the region. 

It was noted that international integration and mutually advantageous cooperation in the transport and environmental sectors were the key priorities of the foreign policy pursued by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Turkmenistan actively contributed to developing the effective mechanisms for international collaboration aimed at equal partnership in mutual interests, the principles of cost effectiveness analysis and environmental security.

During the visit to Ashgabat the OSCE delegation was received at the Ministry of Railway Transport, the Ministry of Water Industry, the Ministry of Nature protection and the Ministry of Motor Transport.