Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept.13
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expressed commitment to the further strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries, a message from the government of Turkmenistan said on Sept.13.
The remarks were made during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan from Sept.11 to Sept.12.
The guest of honor of the SCO summit, Berdimuhamedov stressed that great opportunities emerge for Turkmenistan for cooperation with SCO member states, first of all with China.
Note, a number of important projects have been implemented by Turkmenistan in cooperation with China. The large scale project for construction of a pipeline which ensures the long-term supply of Turkmen gas to China is among them.
"The largest gas main is a key element of energy security in Asia, which gives additional impetus to the development of continental economic relations." Turkmen Dovlet khabarlary (TDH) state news agency said on Sept.13.
TDH stressed that the great potential and complementarity of the national economies allow to expand cooperation in many areas, including the trade and economic sector, transport, communications, textile and chemical industry, as well as construction.
Xi Jinping paid his first visit to Turkmenistan as part of the Central Asian tour in September 2013, after being elected Chinese president. During this visit, the sides signed a document to establish strategic partnership between Turkmenistan and China.
Stable growth is observed in the trade turnover between Turkmenistan and China. The annual volume of exports and imports is around $9 billion. China has become a key buyer of Turkmen gas and expects to increase its annual purchases to 65 billion cubic meters of gas.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the gas market of the Caspian Sea region. It ranks fourth for natural gas reserves in the world.
Turkmenistan actively purchases vehicles for the rail industry and telecommunication equipment from China.
The two countries have also agreed to take measures to stimulate and protect mutual investments.