OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2011. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia Andrus Ansip, who had arrived in Ashgabat leading a high-level delegation, at the Oguzkhan palace complex. The guest conveyed the warm greetings of President of the Republic of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves who had expressed the best wishes to the leader of the Turkmen state and happiness and prosperity to the Turkmen people.

Greeting the distinguished guest, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said he was very glad to receive the representative of the state that Turkmenistan was building friendly relations laying the reliable foundation for fruitful partnership with. The Turkmen leader emphasized that Europe was a priority of the foreign policy strategy of the Turkmen state as was illustrated by the dynamically developing dialogue with the European Union. Today we are taking a new step to enhance this dialogue, said the Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noting that he had the warm recollections of his meeting with the President of Estonia which took place in New York in the autumn of 2009 in the framework of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly.

Thanking for the hearty welcome, the guest emphasized that Estonia highly evaluated the constructive peace-building policy of Turkmenistan that had won the deserved high prestige in the world arena. The Estonian Prime Minister said the achievements Turkmenistan had achieved in implementing the progressive reforms was welcomed and supported in his country

Emphasizing that the drastic reforms taking place in the country were dictated by life itself, the interests of the Turkmen people and global tendencies, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov briefed the guest on the aims and major aspects of the social and economic development strategy of Turkmenistan. The Turkmen leader dwelt upon a number of ambitious projects on international significance aimed at enhancing Turkmenistan’s involvement in international affairs. The Turkmen leader particularly cited the formation of modern transport and communication infrastructure and the project of the North-South transport corridor which would be a most cost effective route from European and Asian countries to the Persian Gulf and farther southern seas as an example.

In his turn Mr. Andrus Ansip said his country was keenly interested in enhancing cooperation with Turkmenistan that had gained the reputation of being a dependable partner with the tremendous economic potential. The guest said Estonia stood ready to offer Turkmenistan its expertise in the spheres of marine transport and shipbuilding, information and communications technologies and networks. In this regard President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that linking the future with advanced technologies and innovations and seeking to fundamentally modernize the national economy, Turkmenistan counted upon the Estonian partners’ expertise.

During the meeting the sides discussed the possibilities for establishing effective business contacts in a number of promising fields. A focus of the talks was cooperation in the fuel and energy sector given the increasing energy demand in Estonia and Turkmenistan’s tremendous hydrocarbon potential. It was noted that the approaches to promoting fruitful cooperation would be thoroughly and substantially considered during the Turkmen-Estonian Business Forum and intergovernmental talks.

Emphasizing that Turkmenistan is always open to equal mutually advantageous cooperation, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited Estonian partners to collaborate in ambitious projects implemented in the country on a competitive basis. Vast opportunities for cooperation were opened up in the recreation and tourism sectors, said the Turkmen leader citing the project of the Avaza national tourism zone, which had aroused keen interest among the business communities of different countries, as an example.

The sides also called for enhancing humanitarian cooperation, including through promoting cultural exchanges. In this context President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that Turkmenistan had accumulated the positive experience of close cooperation with the European Union in this sphere in the framework of collaboration with Europa House in Ashgabat

At the conclusion of the meeting the President of Turkmenistan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia expressed belief that the interstate dialogue being brought nowadays to a qualitatively new level would be furthered successfully.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to Turkmenistan attended the meeting.