U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov held a meeting at the U.S. Department of State, Washington, on Monday, April 24.

Before the start of the negotiations, Blinken noted in the public part of the meeting that he met with Meredov just two months ago at the C5+1 ministerial (in Astana – ed.), and now there is an opportunity to continue the dialogue on a bilateral basis between the countries.

The United States firmly supports the territorial integrity of Turkmenistan, its sovereignty and independence, as well as expanding joint work to address issues such as climate change, in order to strengthen economic, educational ties, and human rights activities.

Rashid Meredov expressed gratitude to Anthony Blinken for inviting the Turkmen delegation, and said that during the political consultations held during the current visit with colleagues from the State Department, many issues related to cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United States in various fields, including energy, economics, and law, were discussed.

According to the Minister, this visit to the United States will serve to expand cooperation between the two countries.

Following the meeting, the State Department issued a press release stating that the US Secretary of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan reviewed the bilateral partnership between the countries and the areas of cooperation touched upon during the annual consultations held on Monday.

Blinken stressed "the exceptional importance of reducing methane emissions to combat the climate crisis and outlined opportunities for cooperation with Turkmenistan to quickly reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector," the report says.

The diplomats also discussed cultural, educational and legal partnership. Efforts to promote and protect the rights of Afghan women and girls were also discussed.

Anthony Blinken and Rashid Meredov exchanged views on regional development, cooperation in the field of security and the potential of economic ties.

ORIENT news