OREANDA-NEWS. December 2, 2011. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake, who had arrived on a working visit to Ashgabat a day before.

Expressing gratitude for the opportunity of a personal meeting, the Turkmen leader conveyed the warm greetings on behalf of United States President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and congratulated President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and the United States. Mr. Robert Blake emphasized that the United States attached considerable significance to promoting cooperation with Turkmenistan that they viewed as a dependable, trustworthy and long-term partner.

Greeting the guest, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov underlined with satisfaction the high dynamics of bilateral relations built by Turkmenistan and the United States on a constructive and long-term basis and significantly intensified in recent years. The Turkmen leader noted that Turkmenistan paid particular attention to partnership with the United States based on the long-term successful experience of cooperation and the profound potential to foster it.

The Turkmen leader noted that the key aspects of the open door policy and the strategy for mutually advantageous international cooperation included steady expansion of the geography of trade and economic contacts as well as modernization of transport and communications infrastructure. In this regard President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov reaffirmed that Turkmenistan stood ready to maintain and establish new contacts with American companies with the profound industrial, scientific and technological expertise in this and other spheres.

A lively exchange of views on the current state and prospects for bilateral partnership in priority fields took place during the meeting. The Turkmen leader and high-ranking official of the United States Department of State dwelt upon major aspects of cooperation in ensuring global security and collaboration in the trade and economic, fuel and energy, investment and other sectors. In this regard Mr. Robert Blake said American companies were keenly interested in strengthening partnership with Turkmenistan and furthering fruitful business contacts.

The American diplomat emphasized that the United States supported the international initiatives Turkmenistan put forward to tackle urgent problems facing mankind, ensure global energy security and promote mutually advantageous cooperation in the interests of the common welfare and sustainable development. In this context Mr. Robert Blake said the United States highly evaluated Turkmenistan’s leading role in ensuring stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian region, particularly in social and economic revival of Afghanistan. The high-ranking official of the U.S. Department of State said the Government of the United States welcomed the leading part of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in promoting the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project and underlined paramount importance of this transnational project designed to be a reliable link connecting states in the region, facilitate their economic integration and contribute including to revival of Afghan economy and settlement of the situation in this country.

A focus of the conversation was the presidential elections in Turkmenistan scheduled fir February 2012. In this context the Assistant Secretary of State said this important political action would be a splendid opportunity to demonstrate the results of the democratic, political, social and economic reforms in Turkmenistan.

It was noted that Turkmenistan’s constructive policy of reforms as a guarantee of sustainable development and further democratization of the country opened up the vast opportunity to foster Turkmenistan-US partnership and expand effective business contacts.

It was noted that Turkmenistan and the United States promoted relations in the humanitarian sphere as well. The Days of Culture of Turkmenistan in the United States being held in Washington these days vividly illustrated this.

Upon concluding the meeting, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and his guest expressed belief that fruitful cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United States had the profound potential and reaffirmed that the two states were ready to concert efforts to fully implement it for the benefit of the two nations, intensify the bilateral dialogue and promote relations of friendship.

U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkmenistan Robert E. Patterson attended the meeting.