Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, July 5 / Trend H.Hasanov /
U.S. President Barack Obama places high priority on U.S.-Turkmen relations, U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Turkmenistan Sylvia Reed Curran said this week.
The recent visit of a large U.S. delegation to Ashgabat in June 2010 "will further strengthen ties between the countries," she said.
Curan's speech on the 234th anniversary of U.S. independence was reported in Turkmen media.
Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the decision to hold annual bilateral talks during his visit to New York last fall.
Curran noted that the two countries share many strategic issues and challenges, including the "common concern for stability in Afghanistan, further cooperation in economy and energy, efforts to expand U.S. trade and investments and to promote Turkmen economic development and diversification, and joint efforts to combat drug trafficking and terrorism."
She added that the Turkmen government has implemented a number of important reforms to promote democracy and establish rule of law.
"Significant steps have been made in education, health and the right to travel freely within Turkmenistan," Curran said.