TURKMENISTAN PARTICIPATED IN THE MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF THE SCO AND CIS IN BISHKEK

On October 26, 2023, the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in Bishkek. The Turkmen delegation was headed by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Hojamyrat Geldimyradov.

The meeting was attended by the heads of government of the Republic of Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan.

During the meeting, security issues, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, joint efforts to combat climate change and water pollution, as well as biodiversity conservation were discussed. In particular, special attention was paid to the creation of a common economic market of the SCO, issues of energy, transport and agriculture.

Having outlined the priorities and plans of Turkmenistan, the head of the delegation H.Geldimyradov noted the existence of great opportunities for joint efforts in strengthening the development of international cooperation in the field of industrial cooperation, green economy and digitalization, investment.

As a result of the meeting, 14 documents were signed.

On the same day in Bishkek, the delegation of Turkmenistan under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister H.Geldimyradov took part in the next meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The agenda of the meeting included issues related to priority areas of the Commonwealth economy, such as trade, industry, transport, energy, logistics, as well as the investment sector and the creation of new chains of trade relations.

During its speech, the Turkmen delegation emphasized the importance of creating a national strategy for financing the Sustainable Development Goals in the implementation of such tasks as promoting the implementation of the CIS Declaration of Strategic Economic Cooperation, developed at the initiative of Turkmenistan in 2019, and creating a unified national financing mechanism. The readiness of the Turkmen side to facilitate the implementation of projects to diversify the energy, transport and communications industries as part of the development of the large infrastructure system of the Commonwealth of Nations “North-South” and “East-West” was also expressed.

The next meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS member states will be held in Ashgabat in May 2024.

On October 26, 2023, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO, a meeting was held between the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan H.Geldimyradov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan J.Jilani.

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the current state of Turkmen-Pakistani cooperation and the ways for further development.

J.Jilani noted the high level of effective cooperation established between the two countries in various fields and expressed confidence in the further strengthening of interstate relations based on the historical and cultural commonality that unites our friendly peoples.

In particular, it was emphasized that the successful implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, as well as the project of power transmission lines and fiber-optic communications along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route will give a new impetus to the socio-economic and structural development of the entire region. It was proposed to conduct further negotiations to increase the pace of work on the Afghan part of TAPI.

In addition, it was noted that it is necessary to use all tools to effectively use the existing potential in the trade and economic sphere and increase the volume of mutual trade.

The priority areas of cooperation also included the oil and gas industry, energy and others. In this regard, the important role of the work of the Joint Turkmen-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission was emphasized.