OREANDA-NEWS. October 13, 2010.   President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who was on the official visit to the State of Qatar, had a meeting a son of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani.

Cordially greeting the Turkmen leader, Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani congratulated President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on a great success of the top level talks that was evidenced by the bilateral documents on bilateral cooperation, which would certainly give new incentives to and fill the interstate dialogue with a new content.

Thanking for the kind words, the Turkmen leader noted that a focus of the talks was cooperation in the spheres of sports and tourism. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that Qatar had a profound experience in this spheres, in particular construction of sports facilities. The Turkmen leader said that Turkmenistan attached significant importance to promoting sport and tourism and developing relevant infrastructure. In this regard the President of Turkmenistan provided an example of the Olympic Village under construction in Ashgabat, the largest complex of facilities designed for practicing various sports and hosting competitions at regional and international level, including the Asian Games. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani to visit Turkmenistan and learn about the large-scale work carried out in this sphere in the country.

Calling for developing fruitful collaboration in the spheres of sport and tourism, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani underscored the enabling opportunities for stepping up fruitful efforts to meet the goals of national development programmes and large-scale investment projects launched in Turkmenistan.

Particular attention was paid to the project of the Avaza national tourism zone on the Caspian seashore, where a number of high-class hotels and comfortable recreation centres for young holidaymakers as well had been built. The concept of further development of this seaside resort, which is very popular among citizens of Turkmenistan and foreign guests, provides for construction of a large complex of tourist, recreation and entertainment facilities that will turn Avaza into a new centre of international tourism.

Upon concluding the meeting, the President of Turkmenistan and Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani expressed belief that fruitful partnership between the two countries continuingly committed to relations of friendship and the strategy for full cooperation would be effectively developed further.