On February 21, 2018, in the building of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in the Republic of Uzbekistan, a press conference was held dedicated to the results of Turkmenistan's foreign policy activities for 2017, as well as planned international events to be held in Turkmenistan in 2018.
Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, officers of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Uzbekistan, representatives of state information services and TV and radio channels, as well as the national association of electronic media attended the press conference.
During the press conference, the participants were acquainted with the implementation of the foreign policy concept of Turkmenistan for 2017-2023 and with the outcome of mutual bilateral high-level visits that took place in 2017, as well as the cooperation of Turkmenistan with the United Nations and its specialized agencies in the current phase.
It was also noted that, at the suggestion of Turkmenistan, the 7th Conference of Regional Economic Cooperation for Afghanistan (RECCA VII) was held in Ashgabat on November 14-15, 2017, following which the Ashkhabad Declaration was adopted reflecting the readiness of the participating states and international organizations to further enhancement of mutually beneficial partnership.
The participants of the press conference were also informed about the events that took place in Turkmenistan in 2017 as part of its chairmanship in the International Energy Charter Conference.
It was noted with satisfaction that the grandiose sports event - the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, which took place on September 17-27 in Ashgabat, were successful.
In addition, the press conference noted that the strengthening of good-neighborly relations between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan is of strategic importance, as indicated by regular meetings between the heads of two fraternal states. In particular, it was told about the results of the summit meetings of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which took place on March 6-7 and May 19-20, 2017 in Ashgabat and Turkmenbashi. It was added that the results of these meetings gave a powerful and qualitative impulse to the Turkmen-Uzbek interaction and laid new creative foundations for bilateral relations in all directions for a long-term and strategic perspective.
Also, during the press conference, the participants got acquainted with the plans for forthcoming events planned for holding in 2018 under the motto "Turkmenistan is the heart of the Great Silk Road". In particular, the meeting participants were informed about the upcoming events on February 23, 2018 to launch the construction of the next stage of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the laying of the power transmission line and the fiber-optic communication line Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan and the opening of the new railroad Serhetabat-Turgundi.
