President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan to take part in the Summit of the ECO member States, which is scheduled to be held in Ashgabat on November 28, 2021. This invitation was announced by the head of Turkmenistan last Saturday at a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who paid a working visit to our country on March 5-6.

Noting that Turkmenistan recently accepted the chairmanship of the Organization for Economic Cooperation (ECO) from Turkey, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that the experience gained by Ankara in this work will be useful, and it will be successfully continued.

The Head of State and his guest exchanged views on the prospects of the Turkmen-Turkish partnership in the context of bilateral agreements and the implementation of solid potential in various fields. Among the priority areas of cooperation, the trade and economic sphere, energy, transport and communication sector were named.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that the use of the potential of the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey transit and transport corridor, providing access to Europe, will bring enormous benefits to the countries of the region.

The Turkish Foreign Minister also expressed gratitude to the President of Turkmenistan for the support of Turkish business representatives who are highly interested in further strengthening mutually beneficial relations with Turkmenistan, where a favorable investment climate has been created, major infrastructure projects and large-scale socio-economic programs are being implemented.

Noting that in 2020, the trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Turkey increased by 8%, amounting to about $2 billion, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed the significant role of the Intergovernmental Commission in the development of bilateral relations.

As an example of mutually beneficial partnership, the head of state cited the fact that the construction of power transmission lines Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan was entrusted to the company "Çalik Enerji".

It was also noted that a high-level Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Turkey Summit is planned to be held in Ashgabat this year, during which issues related to the activation of interstate relations will be discussed. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the timing of this event was changed. In this regard, it was noted that the Turkmen side is ready to organize this high-level meeting at any appropriate time.

On the same day, the Turkish Foreign Minister met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov. Speaking about the importance of Turkmenistan's chairmanship in the ECO, Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed the readiness of the Turkish side to work on expanding transport, transit and energy corridors for regional economic integration. One clear example of cooperation is the Lapis Lazuli Corridor.

The sides also discussed the level of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. The possibilities of developing cooperation in the field of security, including environmental protection, were considered.