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Latvia studies prospects of joint projects with Turkmenistan

Business Materials 16 November 2012 19:10 (UTC +04:00)

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Nov 16 / Trend H. Hasanov /

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow met with Latvian Minister of Transport Aivis Ronis, who arrived in Ashgabat to discuss opportunities for implementation of specific joint projects, Turkmen government said on Friday

A wide range of issues of interstate cooperation, successfully developed on a bilateral and multilateral basis, especially in the framework of cooperation with the Baltic countries and established constructive dialogue with the European Union, including Latvia, was discussed within the meeting, the information said.

The report says that Latvian Minister of Transport supported strengthening and expansion of business contacts in the transport sector that will activate ties in trade, economy and energy sectors.

Another topic was the prospects for cooperation in the field of tourism and transport, in particular, port infrastructure, the improvement of which Turkmenistan, located on the sea gate of the Caspian Sea coast, has prioritized.

"The rich experience of the Republic of Latvia is certainly of great interest to our country, implementing a plan to modernize the existing building and construction of a new multi-port in the Caspian Sea, which has a key role in a large scale project on creation of North-South transnational transport corridor, " the Turkmen leader stated, emphasizing that Turkmenistan is ready to consider all offers of the Latvian partners.

The two countries are studying the potential for cooperation in the area of Turkmenbashi, Caspian port city's development and logistics. This was the result of negotiations between Turkmen President Berdimuhamedow and President of Latvia Andris Berzins, during Turkmen leader's visit to Riga on September 11-12.

The presidents stressed the need to explore possibilities of cooperation in logistics and overland transit routes between Turkmenistan and Latvia in order to develop effective and mutually beneficial solutions for material handling.

Within the talks in Riga possibilities of cooperation in the formation of transport infrastructure, and in particular the construction of ports were discussed. Turkmen leader expressed gratitude for the opportunity to visit the Freeport of Riga.

Volumes of mutual trade are growing between the countries. The trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Latvia grew by more than 1.5 times in 2011, compared with the previous year and amounted to $ 125 million. It is expected that the figure will double.

Turkmenbashi port is preparing for a major modernization of its maritime infrastructure. Experts estimate that the full conversion will require investments of several billion dollars, and therefore the experience of free economic zones in the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong is researched. Dozens of foreign companies and a number of financial institutions in the world expressed willingness to participate in the modernization of naval harbor.

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