Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, visited the exhibition of Afghan goods opened on March 4 in Ashgabat and held a business meeting with businessmen from the neighboring country to discuss the development of interstate cooperation.

The attention of the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty was drawn to the stand of an Afghan company engaged in the extraction of stone used in construction and decoration. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that within the framework of the second phase of the construction of the «smart city» Arkadag in Turkmenistan, there is great interest in modern production equipment and building materials. In this regard, he expressed the readiness of the Turkmen side to consider issues related to the participation of Afghan companies in this work.

The exhibition also features carpets, jewelry, construction materials, household goods, industrial chemicals, food, and agricultural products from Afghanistan.

Emphasizing that this exhibition plays an important role in activating Turkmen-Afghan cooperation, Arkadag stressed the importance of systematically holding such events.

During the subsequent business meeting with representatives of the Afghan side, important issues for both parties regarding cooperation in the fuel and energy and trade-economic spheres were discussed. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish company «Çalik Holding,» Ahmet Chalyk.

Minister of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan, Alhaj Nuruddin Azizi, on behalf of the Afghan people, expressed gratitude to the leadership of Turkmenistan for their attention to the development of bilateral cooperation, ensuring peace and development in the region.

Highlighting that Turkmenistan has accumulated rich experience in holding international exhibitions, the guest expressed his country's interest in implementing joint projects.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that the Turkmen and Afghan peoples share ancient traditions of brotherhood, common spiritual and historical values, and said that Turkmenistan, based on its neutral status, supports only political-diplomatic efforts in resolving the situation in Afghanistan.

Arkadag also emphasized that in addition to the humanitarian assistance regularly provided to the Afghan people, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan are implementing large-scale projects in trade-economic, fuel-energy, and transportation spheres. Among them, special attention is paid to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan power transmission line, and the railway system.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov also noted that in Turkmenistan, transport corridors of international importance are being built, including the railway branch along the Kerki-Ymamnazar-Akina-Andkhoy route, which is of great importance in the development of relations between the two countries.

During the meeting, Azizi emphasized that the Afghan side is keen on utilizing the transit opportunities of the International Seaport of Turkmenbashi. He also noted the importance of the modern multimodal transport-transit corridor Lapis-Lazuli, created in accordance with the agreement between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, which opens a direct trade route from Asia to Europe.

As emphasized, in trade-economic cooperation, which is the main direction of relations between the two countries, great importance is attached to increasing the volume of exports of various food products and processed industrial goods. In this regard, attention was paid to issues related to the construction of grain barns, trade complexes, and other facilities on the border territory, which are of great significance for both countries.