Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Nov. 2 /Trend H. Hasanov/
Canada welcomes Turkmenistan's efforts to improve energy transit and regional trade routes, the letter of the Governor General of Canada David Johnston to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov said.
The message is timed to coincide with the 21th anniversary of independence of Turkmenistan.
'Canada looks forward to long term cooperation between the two countries and welcomes the current efforts of Turkmenistan on cooperation with the international community to promote peace and progress in the region, particularly through improved energy transit and regional trade routes', the letter said.
Turkmenistan, which has the fourth largest reserves of natural gas, is located at the junction of the Caspian region and Central Asia. This allows it to pursue a policy of diversification of energy output to different markets. The country currently sells gas to China, Russia and Iran and India and Europe are considered as the prospects.
n addition, a major railway project North-South which will significantly reduce output to the Persian Gulf region is being implemented with the participation of Kazakhstan and Iran. Ashgabat intends to master the additional sea routes across the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Black Sea.
Trade and energy are the priority areas of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Canada. In particular, oil and gas company Buried Hill conducted exploratory drilling in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea at the licensed Block 3. The PSA was signed in 2007. According to some reports, 3000 km of seismic 2D was conducted. Current operations relate to the analysis of seismic data and the development of further strategies for drilling.
Thermo Design Engineering Ltd, which operates the gas fields in the eastern region of the country, is a long-time partner of Turkmenistan. The company introduced the installations on cleaning of gas from hydrogen sulphide and enhances capacity for the preparation and production of liquefied gas.
Noticeable development of relations is also observed with the national airline Turkmenistan Airlines. In particular, the Caspian country acquired the civil aircraft Challenger.