Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 14
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
Aspects of energy security were discussed during the meeting of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, the message of Turkmen government said May 14.
During the meeting, the sides discussed areas for further collaboration. The most important ones are increasing energy dialogue and "collaboration in the field of ensuring security of international energy supplies, given the fact that this problem affects the vital interests of the majority of OSCE member states and has a direct impact on the stability of the geostrategic situation on the continent and in the world".
OSCE Secretary General praised the active position of independent neutral Turkmenistan, which proposed in recent years a number of actual international initiatives to address the acute problems of the modern world, including those on ensuring global energy security.
Zannier said that "many European countries consider Turkmenistan as one of the main suppliers of natural gas and are ready for a concrete discussion of topical issues of further cooperation in this strategic area," the message said.
Turkmenistan joined OSCE on January 30, 1992. Several large international forums of OSCE and UN, including those on energy security have been recently held in Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan considers it appropriate to intensify the energy dialogue within OSCE, to formulate the mechanisms for multilateral consultations on political, financial, economic, technological and environmental aspects of construction and operation of the multiple pipeline infrastructure.
Turkmenistan ranks fourth for its natural gas reserves in the world and currently, it exports its gas to China, CIS countries and Iran. The possibility of constructing gas pipelines from Turkmenistan to the markets of South Asia and Europe is also under consideration.
Edited by CN