Today, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov arrived in the Uzbek city of Samarkand to attend the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, in the morning, the President of Turkmenistan and President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting in Samarkand.

Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that over the 30 years that have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and China, cooperation between the countries has developed steadily and strategic partnership has reached a high level. According to him, China always considers Turkmen-Chinese relations as promising and long-term. China respects the path of development chosen by Turkmenistan in accordance with national traditions and opposes any outside interference in the internal affairs of the state.

Xi Jinping stressed that the parties are interested in increasing the scale of cooperation between the countries in the field of natural gas and non-resource areas. Such projects will give a new impetus to the development of bilateral economic cooperation. During the meeting, an agreement was reached to intensify and promote the joint initiatives “One Belt, One Road” and the Revival of the Silk Road.” For the speedy implementation of projects, cultural centers will be created to bring the Turkmen and Chinese peoples closer together.

The parties also discussed the possibility of further strengthening the Turkmen-Chinese cooperation within the framework of the "China + Central Asia" meeting and decided to continue the implementation of global initiatives for security, international coordination and strengthening peace around the world.

In turn, Serdar Berdimuhamedov wished success and prosperity to the PRC and expressed hope that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China will make great progress in the future. Turkmenistan supports China in its desire to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and also welcomes the initiatives of the PRC to maintain international peace and security and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The President of Turkmenistan noted that bilateral relations between the countries are expanding every year and cover more and more areas of the economy. Today, the Turkmen-Chinese partnership is developing in such strategic areas as trade, the energy complex, the transport sector, namely cross-border transportation, as well as in the field of culture and education.

Cooperation in promoting the One Belt, One Road project and the Silk Road Revival program, as well as close partnerships within multilateral structures such as the United Nations and the China + Central Asia meeting mechanism are important areas of Turkmen-Chinese relations, Serdar Berdimuhamedov emphasized during the meeting.

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