Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 16
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The development of constructive cooperation with the Caspian countries is among the priority vectors of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary state news agency, citing Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as saying.
The issue of the preparation for the first Caspian Economic Forum, to be held on August 12 in Turkmenistan’s Avaza national tourist zone, was discussed at the governmental meeting.
"The strategic importance of the Caspian Sea and this region in regional, interregional and global geopolitical and geo-economic processes, its role as an important transit-transport and logistics hub stipulate the need to combine the efforts to accelerate productive interaction," the president said.
Such issues as the creation of conditions for big projects, discussions about the role of the economy of the Caspian region in a global context, investment attractiveness in the oil and gas, transport, trade, agro-industrial, tourist and other sectors of the Caspian countries are on the agenda, said a message posted on the website of the Organizing Committee of the forum.
The prospects of joint investment projects and programs will be discussed at the event.
A meeting of ministers of the competent bodies of the parties responsible for the implementation of agreements on trade and economic cooperation and cooperation in the field of transport between the governments of the Caspian countries will be convened on the eve of the forum. In parallel, a draft memorandum of understanding on the creation of the Business Council of the Caspian countries will be discussed.
Besides the delegations of the Caspian countries, representatives of the interested countries close to the Caspian region, leaders and representatives of international economic, financial, transport, environmental and other organizations have been invited to the forum.
The forum consists of three parts - an international conference, an exhibition of innovative technologies and a legal part (the signing of contracts, agreements, treaties).