On January 20 this year, in frames of the official visit of the government delegation of the Russian Federation to Turkmenistan, a meeting was held between the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin.
The Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty noted with satisfaction the traditionally friendly, strategic nature of the Turkmen-Russian dialogue. At the same time, it was noted that the past year was marked by the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and Russia, which have been successfully cooperating all this time in a wide range of areas - trade, economic, energy, transport, agriculture and other areas. A solid contractual and legal basis for mutually beneficial partnership has been created, the expansion of which is also intended to be facilitated by the joint business forum held the day before.
As Arkadag further emphasized, relations between our countries have deep historical roots and are based on strong ties of friendship and good neighborliness. An important area of interstate dialogue is the humanitarian sphere. Interaction in the area of education, science and culture is developing dynamically. A specific example, in this regard, is the Joint Turkmen-Russian secondary school named after A.S. Pushkin operating in Ashgabat. This year, it is also planned to lay the foundation of the Turkmen-Russian University, in connection with which it was proposed to consider joint development of the structure of a new university by creating a scientific center within it.
During the conversation, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of the Milli Gengesh also noted the fruitful nature of bilateral cooperation in the field of healthcare. Solidarity and mutual support between our countries was especially pronounced during the period of joint struggle against the coronavirus pandemic.
Turkmenistan and Russia are also constructively interacting at the multilateral level, through international organizations, including in the CIS format. Speaking about the initiative position of our country in the CIS area, the proposals of the Turkmen side to intensify contacts in the field of sports and to hold major international competitions were noted.
During the conversation, Arkadag conveyed warm words of greeting and best wishes to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, in turn, conveyed heartfelt greetings and best wishes from the President of Russia to the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty, and also expressed his deep gratitude to him for his constant attention to the development of Russian-Turkmen relations. At the same time, warm words of greeting were conveyed from the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Valentina Matvienko. At the same time, it was reported that Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin also plans to pay an official visit to our country in the near future.
As emphasized, cooperation between Turkmenistan and Russia is intensively developing in the trade and economic sector and other key areas. There is an impressive potential for the implementation of joint projects in the fields of energy, industry, digitalization, transport, cultural and humanitarian areas.
Touching upon the topic of humanitarian cooperation, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation noted fruitful bilateral contacts in the field of higher education, emphasizing that about 30,000 Turkmen students study at Russian universities.
In continuation of the meeting, it was stated that a high level of trust and mutual understanding is a solid basis for a fruitful Turkmen-Russian partnership, built on the principles of equality and respect for each other's interests, with a long-term perspective.
An important role in the development of ongoing cooperation is played by the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian Commission, which serves as an effective platform for representatives of the business circles of the two countries and their partners from the public sector.
Along with the above listed, the importance of active inter-parliamentary contacts was noted.
At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan and the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation expressed confidence that the traditionally friendly, good-neighborly interstate dialogue would continue to develop dynamically and deepen in the spirit of mutually beneficial cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of both countries.
