Summit gave new impetus to ties with Pakistan: Turkmen diplomat

By Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA (AA) – A summit last month gave new impetus to the partnership between Turkmenistan and Pakistan, covering the multifaceted range of engagement with the support of the country’s leaders, said Turkmenistan’s top diplomat on a visit to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Tuesday.

Rashid Meredov made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistani President Arif Alvi on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations, according to a statement from Turkmenistan's Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The 15th Summit of Heads of State of the Economic Cooperation Organization, held in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on Nov. 28, should help strengthen a mutually beneficial partnership between the two countries, Meredov said.

As the countries near the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, he said these ties are “steadily developing in all directions, expanded and enriched with new forms and content.”

Moreover, he said, with the support of the countries' leaders, bilateral cooperation spans the whole range of political, trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian interactions.

“The dialogue between the two countries at the highest political level creates a solid foundation for strengthening and further expanding bilateral relations,” he said, adding that the parties are "making significant efforts to develop effective Turkmen-Pakistani economic cooperation, the strategic basis of which is a partnership in the energy sector.”

The leaders went on to underline the importance of intensifying joint action on implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) transnational gas pipeline project, as well as power transmission and fiber-optic communication lines along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) route.

The sides also voiced gratitude for the consistent development of the two countries' cooperation in the fields of education, science, medicine, and health care, as well as in the cultural and humanitarian spheres.