OREANDA-NEWS. March 24, 2009. The three-day visit of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the Russian Federation has started today. This visit is to add a new bright page to the history of the traditionally friendly relations between two fraternal peoples, which have received a powerful incentive to develop in the new epoch.

The programme of the visit going beyond the traditional scope testifies to the significance attached by the partners to this landmark visit in all respects. In Moscow the Turkmen leader will hold the talks with RF President Dmitriy Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, have the meetings with the heads of the Federation Council and State Duma of the Russian Federation. The President of Turkmenistan will visit St. Petersburg where he will have the meeting with Governor Valentina Matvienko and attend the ceremony of inaugurating direct air service between Ashgabat and St. Petersburg. Moreover, the Turkmen-Russian economic forum and Textiles, Carpets, Jewellery of Turkmenistan – 2009 fair which occupies a pavilion of Expocentre – one of the most prestigious exhibition areas in Russia and the CIS anticipated the top level talks.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasizes that Russia ranks among Turkmenistan’s strategic partners reaffirming his country’s adherence to the policy of good neighbourliness and wide international cooperation for the common benefit and welfare. The constructive policy of the Turkmen leader, who put forward a number of the initiatives to promote enhancing peace, stability and social and economic progress of the Eurasian continent, has won the deservedly high prestige on the world arena and been unconditionally recognized by the northern neighbour. President Dmitriy Medvedev repeatedly stated Russia’s willingness and readiness to maintain the course towards developing traditionally mutually advantageous cooperation – during the visit to Ashgabat in July 2008, other meetings and telephone conversations with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invariably held in the atmosphere of openness, mutual understanding and respect, genuinely friendly and sincere communication.

Intensifying the bilateral political, economic and humanitarian contacts, by mutual consent, is dictated by the time itself and profound experience of collaboration accumulated by both countries. That these relations having absorbed the colossal economic and resource potential of two countries, powerful spiritual charge and reciprocal goodwill of the fraternal peoples and the leaders’ practical aiming to achieve the concrete results took big steps forward vividly illustrated by the fact that Russia was among the first countries to support Turkmenistan’s initiative to enhance global energy security and coauthored the UN Resolution on the Reliable and Stable Transit of Energy and Its Role in Ensuring Sustainable Development and International Cooperation.

That is vividly evidenced by the joint projects of two countries in the energy, transport and communication, humanitarian and other sectors. These include construction of the railway Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran, which will connect Russia with the sea terminals in the Persian Gulf and be an outlet to the Indian Ocean, and Caspian pipeline, reconstruction of the gas transportation system Central Asia-Centre, opening of the branch of I. M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas in Ashgabat as well as establishment of the direct trade and economic, scientific and educational, humanitarian contacts between Turkmenistan and the large regions of the Russian Federation, in particular Tatarstan, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan.

The solid legal framework created since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation lays the reliable platform of consistent development of the intergovernmental dialogue. Over this period 140 documents in total were concluded between two countries at the interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental levels. These documents implemented under the supervision of the intergovernmental Turkmen-Russian commission for economic cooperation created incentives to develop the trade and economic contacts that is illustrated by the steady increase in Turkmen-Russian trade turnover.

Thus, in 2008 Russia ranked the first in Turkmenistan’s foreign trade turnover, which made up US\\$ 6.909 billion last year. Besides fuel and energy products, in particular natural gas that is a major part of Turkmenistan’s exports to Russia, Turkmenistan exports agricultural products and textiles and imports manufacturing equipment, metal and metal products, vehicles, household goods, construction materials, food materials, etc.

Considerable expansion of the Russian business on the Turkmen market in recent years illustrates the Russian partners’ keen interest in establishing full-scale cooperation. As of March 1, 2009 130 enterprises with the Russian capital share were registered in Turkmenistan, 59 enterprises as legal entities. 122 projects amounted to US\\$ 371.9 million and 3.94 billion are implemented in collaboration with the Russian companies.

This top level talks, which are of great media interest, is viewed as another step towards intensifying the traditional dialogue, which has been offered the new dynamics and more constructive approach to defining the formats of cooperation on a basis of the existing profound potential and achievements of two countries. So, the Turkmen government delegation consisting of the heads of the leading sectoral ministries and departments and government and business structures will hold a series of the business talks in Moscow. The large-scale cultural actions will be held in St. Petersburg. The Turkmen workers of culture and art, students, who study at the institutions of higher education in Russia and graduated from the higher schools in St. Petersburg, will specially arrive from Ashgabat to Russia’s ‘northern capital’.

Thus, this meeting between the leaders of Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation is to enhance and offer new incentives to develop the dialogue of the strategic partners striving to develop the relations in the bilateral format as well as the framework of the large international and regional organisations.

Upon concluding the top level talks the bilateral documents in the transport and educational sectors will be signed to enhance the priorities of mutually advantageous partnership built on the principles of confidence, equality and respect to national interests.