Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 14
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The fifth meeting of the Turkmen-Saudi intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation will be held on November 8-9, said Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Maksat Babayev at a governmental meeting, the Altyn Asyr TV channel reported Oct. 14.
Commenting on the issue, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted “the presence of an impressive potential for activating and expanding the range of mutually beneficial business contacts”.
The energy sphere was earlier defined as a priority sphere for trade and economic cooperation. Particularly, Saudi Fund for Development expressed interest in financing the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
Moreover, the issue of participation of Saudi companies in the construction of plants in Turkmenistan for processing oil and gas, the production of finished goods and their sale in world markets is being considered.
Earlier, the parties noted the existence of conditions for cooperation in industry and production of building materials, in particular, cement, as well as in the textile industry. There is a potential for expanding ties as part of the North-South and East-West transport-transit corridor projects.
Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relations on Feb. 22, 1992.