Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, May 4 / Trend H. Hasanov /
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov's state visit to Kazakhstan is scheduled for May 10-11, the Turkmen government said on Saturday.
A package of bilateral documents are planned to be signed following the high-level talks.
The report stressed that the new agreements are intended to contribute to further intensifying and developing the inter-state relations based on the principles of equal and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Turkmen and Kazakh Presidents plan to attend the ceremony of commissioning the Turkmen-Kazakh section of "North-South" transnational railway within the visit.
The two neighboring countries are implementing this large-scale project together with Iran. A trilateral intergovernmental agreement was signed in 2007.
According to the experts, the regional project is aimed at providing European and Asian countries with access to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. A similar opportunity will appear for the transit of goods from the countries of South and Southeast Asia, and the cost of the Indian Ocean to the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
According to the preliminary estimates, 3 to 5 million tons of cargo will be transported by this trunk road every year during its first stage, and in future the volumes shall increase to 10-12 million tons. The project was implemented with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.
Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper said today that President Berdimuhamedov stressed satisfaction with the high level of an inter-state dialogue at a meeting at the Cabinet of Ministers.