Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, August 23 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The Turkmen Chamber of Commerce and China Foreign Trade Centre prepare a draft agreement on cooperation, an official Turkmen source said.
From the Turkmen side Vice-Premier Hojamuhammat Mukhammadov, who is responsible for the trade sector, textiles and services, supervises the document preparation.
The Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov at a special meeting generally approved the submitted draft, noting that the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with foreign partners is one of the most important directions of the country's foreign policy strategy.
"The Turkmen-Chinese partnership has a strategic, long-term character, as evidenced by the large-scale projects jointly implemented in the various spheres," he said.
He said this document will enhance bilateral economic cooperation, which meets mutual interests.
China has recently intensified its activity in Central Asia. The total trade turnover with Turkmenistan in 2009 amounted to almost half a billion dollars, this figure increased almost by 40 times compared to 2000.
A significant breakthrough is associated with a major already completed project to build a gas pipeline to China from eastern Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In late 2009 China began to import Turkmen gas under long-term contract.
At present, 37 enterprises with Chinese capital investments are operating in Turkmenistan and 57 joint investment projects worth over four billion dollars have been registered, equal to nearly two and half a billion Yuan.
China is represented in the projects in oil and gas and telecommunication spheres, transport, agriculture, textile, chemical and food industry, in construction.