Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Feb. 21 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Ashgabat is hosting the first meeting of the joint intergovernmental Turkmen-Saudi Arabian Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation today, the Turkmen government said on Thursday.
"While mentioning the favorable climate for foreign investment in Turkmenistan, members of the commission from Saudi Arabia expressed the desire of Saudi business circles to do business in the promising Turkmen markets and to implement the joint investment projects," a government statement said.
The event involved heads of state agencies, including cabinet level ministries of the two countries. Saudi Arabia's Minister of Trade and Industry Tewfik al-Rabeia also attended the meeting.
It is planned to sign the protocol following the meeting.
Saudi Kingdom was one of the first countries which recognized the independence of Turkmenistan and to establish diplomatic relations with the Caspian country.
Saudi Arabia's embassy was opened in Ashgabat in 1997.
President Berdimuhamedov paid his first official visit to Saudi Arabia in April 2007. The two countries signed a package of bilateral documents consisting of a general agreement on bilateral cooperation, an agreement on cooperation between the trade-industrial chambers of the two countries.
The two countries are examining the partnership opportunities in the fuel and energy sector, production of cement and other building materials, as well as agriculture, including animal husbandry, cultivation of grain and forage crops.