OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2010. The Turkmen-Armenian business forum was held at the President hotel in Ashgabat. Forum participants included specialists of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Unions of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan and Armenia, sectoral ministries and departments of Turkmenistan and members of the Armenian business delegation. This consisted of the heads of Armenian leading companies operating in the banking, construction and building materials, machine-building, textile, agro-industry, food, logistics and jewellery sectors.

It should be noted that the business forum was organized in the framework of activities timed to the official visit of President of the Republic of Armenia Serj Sargsian to Turkmenistan, the event, which was to give a new impetus to friendly relations between the two countries. Exchanging views, participants of the Turkmen-Armenian business forum called for deepening bilateral contacts and highly evaluated the prospects for enhancing bilateral cooperation. In particular, addressing the forum, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Nerses Yeritzian empghisized that the business forum in the Turkmen capital provided a real opportunity to take a new important step to strengthen collaboration and implement the existing potential of partnership.

Forum participants recognized that this very high potential had not been fully implemented that opened vast opportunities for collaboration. Today, ten companies with the Armenian share of the capital operate in Turkmenistan, and for nine months of the current year turnover of commodities between the two countries increased as high as 6 times. The first Turkmen-Armenian business forum and the carpet and textile exhibition of Turkmenistan, which were held in Yerevan this April, contributed to enhancing cooperation. A logical continuation of these efforts became the business forum in the Turkmen capital, which spotlighted such most promising fields of partnership as transport, building materials production, pharmaceutics, instrument engineering, agricultures, textile industry, tourism.

During the business forum the thorough information on the economy of our country and promising fields of cooperation was provided to Armenian guests. The film about Turkmenistan’s modern achievements and growing export potential was demonstrated. The Armenian Agency for Development made a large-scale presentation on the economy of the friendly state. Practical aspects of partnership were discussed in the format of bilateral meetings between businessmen, specialists of ministries and departments of the two countries.

A commodity exhibition of the Republic of Armenia was arranged in the foyer of the President Hotel in the framework of the business forum. It presented pieces of jewellery, textile and agricultural products, building materials including those made from natural stones. The Ministry of Culture of Armenia arranged a large-scale exposition including the paintings created by renowned artists of this country and the works of Armenian poets and writers.

Certainly, business meetings held in Ashgabat would profoundly contribute to enhancing friendly relations and developing mutually advantageous cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Armenia.