On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is to pay his first foreign visit this year to Ashgabat where he will participate in the plenary session of the Russian-Turkmen business forum.
According to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, the chairman of the Russian government is also scheduled to hold talks with President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov. "The parties will discuss topical issues of development of Russian-Turkmen cooperation. Special attention will be paid to deepening cooperation in trade and economic, transport, industrial, energy and cultural and humanitarian spheres," the report explains.
Mishustin earlier in his New Year greetings to Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that the countries will continue to work to strengthen multifaceted cooperation and create new promising projects and initiatives. According to him, the year 2022 was also marked by the progressive development of relations between Moscow and Ashgabat. In his congratulatory message to Turkmenistan's Upper House Speaker Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Russian prime minister emphasized that the states pay special attention to joint projects in industry, energy and transport.
Mishustin will visit Turkmenistan for the first time as the head of the Cabinet of Ministers. Last year he visited Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The Russian-Turkmen Business Forum will be held to deepen bilateral trade and economic and industrial cooperation, especially between the business communities and organizations of the two countries, the website of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The events scheduled for this time include a joint meeting of business councils and industry B2B meetings. The forum's panel sessions will be devoted to bilateral cooperation in transport and logistics, industry, education, digitalization, etc.
Russian-Turkmen relations
Turkmenistan is a reliable strategic partner of Russia in the Central Asian region. Last year, Moscow and Ashgabat marked the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. The states also cooperate in multilateral formats, including in the CIS and the "Caspian Five".
The trade, economic and investment relations of the two countries are developing taking into account the influence of the post-pandemic conditions, the turbulence of the global economy and geopolitical tensions, as the reports of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers read. The intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation works effectively, it has a high-level group for trade and investment support.
The security dialogue is strengthening. For example, Turkmenistan was the first Central Asian state Russia signed the agreement on cooperation in the sphere of ensuring international information security.
Humanitarian ties are increasing. Over 30 thousand students from Turkmenistan study in Russian universities, and the Russian-Turkmen school named after A.S. Pushkin has been functioning in Ashgabat for over 20 years. At the moment the issue of constructing an additional building for junior school students is being considered, noted the Russian Cabinet of Ministers.
The two states pay special attention to combating dangerous infectious diseases. In particular, Turkmenistan was among the first to register Russian vaccines against covid. Last year, Ashgabat received 330,000 sets of Sputnik V vaccine and 800,000 doses of Sputnik Light, 300,000 of which were supplied free of charge, the materials say.
The cooperation in the sphere of culture is successfully developing. Cross-days of culture and Russian cinema weeks are held in Turkmenistan. The Russian side attaches great importance to the initiative to construct a new building in Ashgabat for the Pushkin State Russian Drama Theater, the government stressed.
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Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS