We hope to see Turkmenistan in Turkic Council: Erdogan

By Kaan Bozdogan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Marking the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality, the Turkish president on Saturday reiterated wish for the Central Asian country to be included in the Turkic Council.

“We follow the active involvement of Turkmenistan both in cooperation among the Central Asian countries and the dialogue process they perform with states and international organizations outside the region. By this means, I would like to stress once again that we wish Turkmenistan is included in the Turkic Council as soon as possible,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a video message.

Erdogan said that Turkey was the first country to recognize the independence of Turkmenistan and also supported the UN resolutions in 1995 and 2015 to enable recognition of its neutrality.

He stated that they closely follow the work carried out with the UN and other international organizations for the establishment of international peace, security and stability within the framework of Turkmenistan's neutrality policy and are determined to continue their cooperation in this field.

Erdogan also stated that they were very pleased with Turkmenistan's contribution to the establishment of lasting and sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

"The exemplary steps taken by Turkmenistan in the fields of transportation, energy, industry, trade, health, and environment in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals shed light not only on the future of Turkmenistan, but also on the future of the region," he said.

Despite the economic difficulties caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries increased by 18% in the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same period last year, the Turkish leader noted.

He said that the two countries will hold meetings within the framework of existing cooperation mechanisms again when the pandemic alleviates.