Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 26
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov welcomed China’s new ambassador Sun Weidong on Oct. 26, Turkmen government said in a message.
In recent years the parties have successfully implemented significant joint projects, including construction of Eurasia’s longest Turkmenistan-China pipeline.
“This transnational gas pipeline, having become a modern embodiment of the Silk Road, which used to link peoples of the continent in ancient times, has immense geopolitical and social importance,” the diplomat stated.
The ambassador pointed to the topicality of the proposals on energy security and ensuring of reliable and stable transit of energy resources to world markets, put forward by Ashgabat.
The role of the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, which was used for the first test run of a container train in early 2016, was also mulled in the meeting.
Chinese ambassador noted the significance of the project to construct the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railroad, which will be extended to China.
“China completely supports this important initiative of the Turkmen leader and is ready to take an active part in its realization,” the diplomat said.
The sides also said the fuel and energy sector, trade, economy and construction, as well as the agricultural sector are the key areas of partnership.
China is one of the largest foreign trade partners of Turkmenistan. Beijing expects to increase annual purchase of Turkmen gas to 65 billion cubic meters.
The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) buys gas from the Central Asia region since 2009.