Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 27 /Trend/
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent congratulations to Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on the occasion of the national holiday - Independence Day, Itar-Tass reported.
Medvedev's message noted that "over the past two decades, Turkmenistan has achieved considerable success in economic development and strengthened its authority in the international arena.
It is gratifying that with joint efforts, we have succeeded in not only keeping the yearlong traditions of friendly Russian-Turkmen relations, but also in raising them to a qualitatively new level. Our interaction within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States
continues to expand, with Turkmenistan taking over the rotating presidency of the CIS this year.
"Among the most important tasks at present is supporting the atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust, which largely determines further development of bilateral relations. I regard our recent meting with You "on the sidelines" of the session of the council of heads of CIS states in Dushanbe as an important move towards this direction and a good
beginning for preparing Your visit to Russia in December 2011. I'm confident it will open new prospects for developing mutually advantageous and equitable partnership between our countries.
"I'm firmly convinced that strengthening good neighborly ties between Russia and Turkmenistan meets the interests of our peoples, and serves the cause of peace and development in Central Asia," Medvedev said, according to the Kremlin press service.
A large military parade will take place in Ashgabad's central square on Thursday where all the branches of troops with modern equipment will be shown. It will be followed by a workers' march and a theatrical show.
Jubilee festivities began in early October. The republic has opened dozens of large industrial and social facilities since, such as a booster station in the Dovletabad field, liquefied gas production lines, regional libraries, and dozens of new schools, kindergartens and other socially significant structures.
"Turkmenistan is celebrating the jubilee as a modern, competitive state with a firm foundation, and tremendous economic and humanitarian potential, which successfully implements large-scale transformations in all the spheres of the society's life," Berdymukhamedov stated at a meeting of the Council of Elders.
The main task in the country's development is to "turn Turkmenistan from a predominantly agrarian state into an industrially developed and powerful country."
"It means in the first place the building of giant industrial complexes with complete production cycle with state-of the-art equipment," the head of state said.
The decision on the republic's sovereignty was made on October 27, 1991 after a plebiscite.