KEY ASPECTS OF TURKMEN-AFGHAN COOPERATION DISCUSSED

On October 4, 2020, a video conference meeting was held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Haneef Atmar. 

During the talks, the heads of external policy agencies of two countries confirmed the high level of interstate dialogue based on the ties of friendship and good neighborliness. The counterparts discussed the key issues of bilateral cooperation in political-diplomatic, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian fields.     

Particularly, the successful advancement of the multilateral transport and energy projects, such as the construction of “Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India” gas pipeline, as well as the electrical and fiber-optic communication lines on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route were underlined. The parties noted that the implementation of these projects will make a valuable input in social-economic development not only of the countries-participants of the projects, but also of the whole region.

The Afghan side noted the important role of Turkmenistan in the promotion of peace process in Afghanistan. The significance of the positive neutrality policy of the country calling for the resolution of issues solely by the means of diplomatic tools and in the framework of the international law norms was stated. 

The colleagues exchanged views on the issues of the regional and international agendas, as well as expressed the necessity of strengthening cooperation in addressing the global challenges.