PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN HOLD A MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER OF BULGARIA

President of Turkmenistan held a meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov. 

The President of Turkmenistan cordially greeted the distinguished guest, who arrive in our country on a working visit, heading the representative delegation to take part in the Fisrt Caspian Economic Forum. 

The President introduced the members of the government delegation of Turkmenistan to the head of the Bulgarian government. In turn, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria introduced the members of the government delegation to the Turkmen leader. 

Upon the completion of the traditional ceremony of photographing against the background of the National Flags of the two countries, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov hel a meeting in one-on-one format. Welcoming the head of the government of a friendly country, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized that Turkmenistan attached great importance to strengthening traditionally friendly and mutually beneficial relations with the Republic of Bulgaria, based on mutual respect, equality, the aspiration for progress and development. 

Expressing sincere gratitude for the warm welcome, the distinguished guest conveyed the greeting from President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev to the President of Turkmenistan and the best wishes to the Turkmen people. Mr. Borissov noted that he was glad of the opportunity to visit Turkmenistan again and take part in the First Caspian Economic Forum. 

It was emphasized that the Republic of Bulgaria fully supported the constructive policy pursued by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the initiatives put forward by the leader of Turkmenistan. 

Thanking for kind words and addressing the greetings to the President of Bulgaria, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that pursuing the foreign-policy course based on the principles of positive neutrality, peacefulness and ‘open doors’, Turkmenistan took an active position in developing fruitful international cooperation. 

Expressing satisfaction with the traditionally friendly character of the Turkmen-Bulgarian relations, the Turkmen leader focused on the wide opportunities for strengthening mutually beneficial ties in various industries. 

Touching upon the issues of an international character, the resident of Turkmenistan and his guest emphasized the mutual commitment and willingness of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Bulgaria to steadily contribute to strengthening the climate of trust and mutual understanding and enhancing peace and stability in the regions of Central Asia and Southeast Europe. 

The President of Turkmenistan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria expressed satisfaction with the ongoing development of bilateral cooperation. They emphasized the importance of maintaining regular dialogue between the two states, contributing to the expansion of bilateral relations, the identification of new areas of cooperation and the improvement of the legal framework. 

The meeting continued in the extended format with the participation of the delegations of the two countries. During the meeting, the President of Turkmenistan and the Prime Minister of Bulgaria discussed priority issues of bilateral partnership, one of the key vectors of which is the trade and economic sphere. 

As noted, the joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation played a significant role in realizing the existing solid potential for enhancing productive interaction and strengthening bilateral business contacts. 

Energy and transport were specified among the main areas of cooperation. It was underlined the importance of the initiatives put forward by our country to ensure global energy security and develop a combined transit, transport and logistics infrastructure, covering the territories of continental Eurasia with access to the sea terminals of the Black Sea and Baltic regions, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and in the long term - Asia Pacific. It was emphasized the practical importance of the First Caspian Economic Forum initiated by the Turkmen leader. The Forum agenda includes a wide range of issues that contribute to enhancing the fruitful and multidisciplinary interaction of littoral states and all interested foreign parties. Underlining the significance of the tasks of the Forum, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria highly evaluated the high organizational level and the representative membership of participants of all the events included in rich programme of the Forum. 

The environmental area was also specifies among the promising areas of cooperation. As noted, Turkmenistan pays close attention to issues related to this area, and has accumulated extensive experience in the practical implementation of environmentally friendly technologies. Reaffirming the willingness of the parties to give new dynamics to interstate cooperation, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov expressed confidence that traditional Turkmen-Bulgarian relations would successfully develop both at the bilateral and multilateral level, through authoritative international organizations, including within dialogue with the European Union. 

In conclusion of the meeting, the President of Turkmenistan and the head of the Bulgarian government wished all the best to each other and the peoples of the both countries.