Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Oct. 8 /Trend H. Hasanov/
Negotiations between Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdimuhamedow and Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf will take place on Monday in Bern, the Turkmen government reported.
This is the first official visit of the Turkmen president who arrived to Zurich heading a government delegation.
'The upcoming high level negotiations in Bern will start a new stage in history of intergovernmental dialogue, based on a background of sincere friendship and extension of mutually beneficial cooperation which has been developing in a new intensive way of late', the state information service reported.
Turkmenistan and Switzerland's foreign policy is based on constant neutrality principles. According to the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper, both parties adapt their neutrality to new international conditions, supporting political dialogue and preventing violation and aggression.
According to the programme the presidents will visit the UN headquarters in Geneva.
Diplomatic relations between the countries were established in 1992. Fuel, the energy sector, trade and economic field, construction, transport and communication are among the priorities.
Some 33 companies with Swiss capital have been registered as of July 1 2012. Some 61 joint projects amounting to $267.5 million, 4.3 million Swiss francs and 29.7 million euros are being implemented.
Turkmenistan supplies natural gas from Russia to Iran and China. The issue of entry to European market is on the agenda. The Nabucco project, realisation of which could lead to a variety of energy sources for Europe, is usually associated with this project. In order to connect the pipelines, a pipe has to be constructed under the Caspian Sea to the Azerbaijani coast, whose territory is already connected with Turkey and Europe,