President of India Highly Commends International Initiatives Proposed by Turkmen Leader

President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, had a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic of India, Ram Nath Kovind. 

During the conversation, the heads of friendly nations have exchanged opinions on the current state and the future of the intestate dialog in bilateral and multilateral formats, primarily, within reputable international organizations, and discussed several issues of mutual interest pertaining to regional and global politics. 

President Ram Nath Kovind was pleased to state the proximity or accordance of positions of Turkmenistan and India on several important aspects of the agenda, which allows the two countries to collaborate effectively on the global arena, and highly commended proposals by the Turkmen leader that are aimed at tackling global issues of our time, particularly, ensuring energy security. As noted, by suggesting clearly articulated approaches to resolving this issue, Turkmenistan is taking coherent steps towards implementing its initiatives. This is also evidenced by our country’s activity as Chair of the Energy Charter this year. 

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has expressed his gratitude for the longstanding support for advancing Turkmenistan’s initiatives; stressed that the people of Turkmenistan welcome success of brotherly India on the path of economic development, and voiced our country’s intention to continue joining efforts to ensure stability, security and prosperity in the region. 

The President of Turkmenistan has invited the President of India to attend the functions scheduled for the second half of February 2018. Among them are the ground-breaking ceremony for the Afghanistan section of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India pipeline that will take place at the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan border; the laying of fiber-optic cable line along the same route; inauguration of construction of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan power line; and the commissioning ceremony of the Serhetabat–Torghundi railway that has been fully funded by Turkmenistan using its logistical, technical and human resources. 

President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed his sincere gratitude for the invitation and stressed that the Indian side attaches great importance to the TAPI project and other infrastructure projects that are targeted at accelerating Afghanistan’s economic integration and promoting prosperity of the countries of the region. 

Further details of the Indian leader’s participation in the upcoming events will be coordinated through diplomatic channels. 

The sides were pleased to note the high level of interstate cooperation that was given a fresh impetus by the visit to Turkmenistan of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, in July 2015. 

The Presidents have stated that this year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and reiterated their commitment to further join efforts in priority areas for the benefit of the peoples of Turkmenistan and India. In this context, the sides have highlighted the importance of joint economic and educational projects that open up new opportunities for cooperation. 

Dwelling on immediate issues of bilateral cooperation, heads of state concurred that the relations of trust allow Turkmenistan and India not only to implement all reached agreements, but also outline new areas for the longstanding partnership. 

Moreover the sides have noted the promising future of cooperation in commerce and economics, as well as in humanitarian and cultural spheres and advanced information technology. 

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has stressed that the peoples of Turkmenistan and India are united by the commonality of historical and cultural roots stemming from the mists of time. In this regard, the importance of further intensification of exchanges in the humanitarian area to study the historical and cultural heritage of our countries was highlighted. 

The Presidents highly commended the potential of the Turkmenistan–India dialog and expressed their unanimous support for intensification of interstate relations and implementation of new joint projects. 

Prior to bidding farewell, Presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Ram Nath Kovind exchanged season’s greetings and warmest wishes for well-being and prosperity of the peoples of the two countries.