President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who arrived in Samarkand the day before to participate as an honored guest at the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, met with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports.

 Focusing on economic ties, where energy plays a special role, Vladimir Putin noted the productive long-term work in Turkmenistan of the leading companies of the Russian Federation – Gazprom and Tatneft.

 Thanking Serdar Berdimuhamedov for creating the necessary conditions for the activities of Russian partners, Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia's focus on diversifying trade and economic cooperation with Turkmenistan, with which many subjects of the Russian Federation have also established active cooperation.

 It was also reported at the meeting that 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation are actively cooperating with Turkmenistan.  With many of them, agreements in the trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural spheres were concluded.

 As President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted, the progressive development of bilateral relations is facilitated by systematic contacts at the government level, as well as regular consultations between foreign ministries.

 A constructive character is inherent in the cooperation of the two states within the framework of authoritative regional and international organizations.  In this regard, the head of Turkmenistan expressed gratitude to his Russian colleague for supporting the neutral foreign policy of our country and the initiatives put forward by it in the UN and other international structures.

In the context of the topic of Turkmen-Russian cooperation, positive dynamics of interaction in the trade and economic sphere, as well as in the fuel and energy sector, was noted, as evidenced by the agreements reached in the field of supplies of Turkmen natural gas to the Russian Federation.

 In the modern realities, the transport and communications sector has also been identified as an important area of ​​partnership.  Today, the role of transport, transit corridors and logistics is gaining strategic importance.

 In the mutual opinion of the parties, a fruitful cultural and humanitarian dialogue occupies a special place in interstate relations.  In order to deepen long-term ties in the field of education, the issue of opening a Turkmen-Russian university in Ashgabat is currently being considered.  Much is being done in terms of cooperation in the field of culture.

 At the end of the meeting, Presidents Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Vladimir Putin, expressing confidence that traditional Turkmen-Russian relations would continue to grow and develop, exchanged best wishes for each other and the friendly peoples of both countries.