A high level of political relations has been established between Turkmenistan and the European Union, supported by regular meetings in various formats, including inter-parliamentary relations, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Nurmuhammet Amannepesov said, speaking at the summit of the heads of state of Central Asia and the President of the European Council, held on Thursday in Cholpon-Ata.

Amannepesov, in particular, noted that meetings of the EU-Turkmenistan Committee are held annually, cooperation is carried out in trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

We support the expansion of joint project areas, the Deputy Prime Minister said, highlighting among the areas of joint work of the program in the field of border management, drug prevention, law enforcement, trade development, student and teacher exchanges, water resources, the environment and climate change.

Amannepesov also noted the recently launched programs and projects in the field of sustainable energy interconnection in Central Asia, skills development for youth and employment opportunities. Turkmenistan welcomes the initiatives of Team Europe in the areas of digitalization, energy, water resources and climate change and confirms its readiness to work together on these tracks.

Among the priorities of cooperation in the "Central Asia - European Union" format are trade and economic ties and the development of transport routes, which go hand in hand.

Central Asia, due to its geopolitical location, has a huge potential in the field of transit and transport communications, and this potential is far from being fully exploited today. In this context, the study of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on sustainable transport links between Europe and Central Asia, which was recently presented in the framework of the second Economic Forum "Central Asia - European Union", was noted.

However, the Turkmen side also considers it important to study the transit possibilities of Afghanistan, the use of which will not only open up new routes for cargo flows, but will also contribute to the economic development of this country.

Turkmenistan is actively promoting cooperation in the field of transport at the international and regional levels. On the initiative of the country, a number of resolutions of the UN General Assembly in this area were adopted. Efforts continue to develop safe and mutually beneficial international corridors using rail, road, air and water transport. Large investments are being made in transport infrastructure facilities in the country of regional and international importance, among which it is necessary to separately note the international seaport of Turkmenbashi, commissioned in 2018.

At the same time, it must be taken into account that the development of traffic flows depends not only on the work of transport organizations, the coherence of their interaction, and the state of the infrastructure. Customs and border services also play an important role in this. Therefore, it is important to strengthen their potential, strengthen their cross-border interaction.

Turkmenistan renewed its proposal to organize a meeting of representatives of transport organizations, the public-private sector to consider opportunities, existing difficulties and ways to overcome them.

In addition, the Turkmen delegation proposed to consider a joint project aimed at increasing the potential of transport and customs services, strengthening transnational cooperation, harmonizing norms and rules in the field of taxes and duties, determining common transit tariffs, simplifying customs and migration procedures.

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