Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.14 / Trend, V. Zhavoronkova /
Fuel and energy sector remains traditional priority of the Turkmen-Chinese cooperation, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov said at a meeting with Special Envoy of the President of the People's Republic of China, Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress of China Chen Zhili, State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) reported on Saturday.
Zhili arrived in Turkmenistan as the head of the delegation to attend the events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and China.
"We consider the People's Republic of China as our close friend and reliable partner," Berdimuhammadov said at the meeting stressing coincidence of the two countries' views and approaches of to address many important issues of regional and international policy.
Berdimuhammadov said that given the established legal framework, today there are all conditions for relations between Turkmenistan and China to enter qualitatively new level, which meets to real opportunities and interests of both countries.
It became known at the meeting that over 11 months of 2011 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to about $10 billion, which makes China as a leading country in the list of Turkmenistan's major trade partners.
The sides expressed commitment to further deepening of political, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations. The meeting also stressed rich positive experience of joint work accumulated over two decades, realized in dozens of major projects of national and international importance, especially in the gas sphere, which is strategic for both countries.
Stressing the urgency of boosting economic cooperation, the sides stressed the importance of implementing new joint projects that will directly contribute to strengthening of bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, transport and telecommunications spheres, chemical and textile industry, agriculture, health, and innovative technologies. Partnership in the cultural sphere, in particular in the sphere of education, science and culture, which already has positive experience of joint work, is not less significant, the agency reported.