Putin Meets With Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov

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Russia President Vladimir Putin met Tuesday with President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is in Russia on a working visit.

Putin and Berdimuhamedov discussed key bilateral cooperation issues and exchanged opinions on topical regional issues, according to the Kremlin.

Putin noted that trade between the two countries has been growing in ruble terms despite the current economic challenges.

“It has decreased in US dollars but has increased in rubles,” Putin said, adding, “This means that we are maintaining mutual deliveries at a high level. Imports from Turkmenistan doubled in 2015. It is a positive achievement, though there is much more to be done in this area.”

For his part, Berdimuhamedov noted Turkmenistan is maintaining a positive trade balance, to a large degree thanks to the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, which is doing a great deal in the areas of trade and investment.

“Both Russia and Turkmenistan have a considerable reserve potential,” Berdimuhamedov said.

With respect to Turkmenistan’s goal of developing a logistics center, Berdimuhamedov told Putin that the issue is important for the development the region’s economies. “I would like to use this occasion to invite you to the UN-sponsored Global Sustainable Transport Conference, which we will host on November 26–27,” Berdimuhamedov said.

“We have a ramified transport infrastructure, which is acquiring a global scale in the Caspian region. Russia’s attendance in the upcoming conference will further boost the development of transport transit corridors, not only in Central Asia, but also in the southeastern region as a whole. I believe that it is a highly promising economic area and a very serious project,” Berdimuhamedov said, adding, “It is my pleasure to invite you to this conference.”

Additionally, Berdimuhamedov noted that while Turkmenistan is a neutral country, “We are grateful to you for supporting us twice and for co-sponsoring the UN resolution on the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan is the only neutral country in the world whose peaceful foreign policy is based on the UN Charter.”

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