Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, July 31 / Trend H. Hasanov /
Turkmenistan and China signed an agreement on technical-economic cooperation that will see the allocation of a grant to Turkmenistan by the Chinese government. This followed a meeting of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Chinese Cooperation Committee held in Beijing, the Turkmen government said today.
Members of the Turkmen delegation held several bilateral meetings with representatives of Chinese ministries and departments. New contacts were established. The prospects of partnership were discussed and plans for further cooperation were specified.
The results of the Beijing talks were discussed at the government meeting. The Turkmen President said that the cooperation with China is one of the priorities of Turkmenistan's foreign policy. It actively develops mutually beneficial relations on a wide range of areas with the world largest country.
"Perceiving each other as strategic partners, Turkmenistan and China are steadily increasing experience and interaction potential by successfully implementing joint projects in major sectors of the economy," the Turkmen leader said.
According to the information, trade turnover between the countries doubled for the first five months of 2012 compared to the same period of last year.
'The parties stressed the great interest in enhancing the productive dialogue on the principles of mutual benefit, by expressing confidence that this meeting will give a new impetus to developing multifaceted Turkmen-Chinese cooperation, implementing joint economic projects, exchanging experience and modern technologies', the information said.
Turkmenistan imports products for industrial purposes, metal products, equipment and vehicles from China.
Turkmenistan exports agricultural products, excluding natural gas, to China.
About 37 Chinese companies covering 66 investment projects totalling about $4.5 billion and 2.3 billion yuan operate in Turkmenistan.