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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

I am happy to see you.

I would like to begin our meeting by expressing my gratitude for the warm welcome that was given to me and all members of the Russian delegation during the Caspian Summit in Turkmenistan.

Once again, I want to congratulate you on hosting that event. It was organised at the highest level and facilitated the development of both the relations in the Caspian region, which is very important for us all, and our interstate relations.

This year – we spoke about it in April – we marked the 30^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries, and we can state that the level of strategic partnership that has been attained and outlined in relevant documents is present not only on paper, but in real life as well.

The credit for it goes largely to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for his big personal contribution. I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to him. He did a great deal, and as you know, we acknowledged his achievements in a proper way by presenting him with a state award, the Order for Services to the Fatherland, which in this case referred to both his service to Russia and to Turkmenistan.

I know that Mr Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is going to visit Russia at the invitation of Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and will have a meeting with State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. I will be pleased to meet with him in person too, and this meeting will definitely be arranged.

Our countries’ governments, ministries and agencies are working towards implementing the agreements reached during your visit to Moscow on June 10, when 14 intergovernmental and interagency documents in various spheres were signed. All of this is very important for the development of our ties, above all the economy, of course. We will promote our relations to a new level. This is stipulated by the Declaration on the Promotion of Strategic Partnership that we signed.

As is known, Russia is a leading trade and economic partner of Turkmenistan, and we intend to increase our share. Unfortunately, over the pandemic year and now, the trade has slightly decreased. Let us just say that this is a topic for discussion and future adjustment, but we simply have to state this in order to understand what else needs to be done in order to even out the situation and develop it further.

On our side, the intergovernmental commission is chaired by Alexei Overchuk, who reports regularly on how the work is progressing, including in high-level working groups. I hope, I am even certain, that the situation will change for the better.

Of course, energy plays a special role in our economic ties. Our leading energy company, Gazprom, has been productively working in Turkmenistan for many years. We have also discussed this issue with you. In general, as far as I understand, the situation suits Turkmenistan; all agreements are being implemented. Tatneft, another Russian energy company, has joined the process. The pipe metallurgical company supplies a significant amount of the products you need for the expansion of pipeline transportation.

In total, there are 190 enterprises with Russian participation operating in Turkmenistan, and I would like to thank you for the Turkmen authorities’ creation of all the necessary conditions for this work.

We aim to diversify our economic ties through other spheres of cooperation, such as agriculture and the textile industry. We are ready to expand the supply of non-primary products to the market of Turkmenistan.

Sixty Russian regions are actively cooperating with Turkmenistan in various areas, and agreements have been signed, with many of them in the trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural spheres.

I would like to thank you in particular for your attitude to the Russian language and Russian culture. We think that this is a highly important aspect that paves the way for collaboration in all areas.

We are grateful for your support for the initiative to construct a new building for the State Russian Drama Theatre in Ashgabat and an additional building for the Pushkin Russian-Turkmen School. We also hope that the plans to establish a Russian-Turkmen university will soon come to fruition.

We actively collaborate internationally, at practically all the international organisations, and our foreign ministries maintain steady contacts.

I am very glad to have an opportunity to meet with you on the sidelines of today’s event.

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov: Thank you very much, Mr President.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the opportunity to have this meeting on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.

I also would like to convey to you warm greetings on behalf of the Chair of the Upper Chamber of Parliament, Mr Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Mr President, I would like to note the high level of our bilateral political relations. As you know, our reciprocal visits at the top level are evidence of this. On June 10, I made my first official visit to Moscow, and on June 29, you came on a visit to Ashgabat to participate in the 6^th Caspian Summit.

I would also like to note that our inter-parliamentary ties have grown considerably stronger. In May of this year, Ashgabat hosted the first Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Countries of Central Asia and the Russian Federation. In October of this year, as you noted, the Chair of the Upper Chamber of Parliament of Turkmenistan, Mr Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, will also visit the Russian Federation at the invitation of the Speaker of the Federation Council.

Mr President, I want to note that the governments of our two countries maintain contacts on a systemic basis; interagency consultations are also held regularly.

I would like to express my gratitude to you for your firm and invariable support of Turkmenistan’s neutral foreign policy course and my country’s initiatives at the UN and other international organisations.

Thank you very much once again for this meeting within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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