India and Turkmenistan signed 4 agreements, together with in monetary intelligence and catastrophe administration, as President Ram Nath Kovind met his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov right here on Saturday and agreed to increase bilateral commerce and power cooperation to additional strengthen the multifaceted partnership.
This is the first-ever go to of the President of India to impartial Turkmenistan and comes simply after the inauguration of recent Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov.
During his assembly at this time with the President of Turkmenistan Berdimuhamedov, President Kovind held an in depth dialogue on the state and prospects of bilateral relations and likewise exchanged views on varied regional and worldwide problems with significance.
“We have agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen our multifaceted partnership. Economic relations strengthen bilateral ties. We agreed to do more to expand bilateral trade which has remained modest. Our business communities must deepen their engagement, understand each other’s regulations and identify new areas of trade and investment,” the president mentioned in a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The two leaders highlighted the importance of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport and Transit Corridor.
President Kovind identified that the Chabahar port constructed by India in Iran could possibly be used to enhance commerce between India and Central Asia.
“Cooperation in energy was one of the key areas of our discussions today. On the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, I suggested that issues related to the security of the pipeline and key business principles may be addressed in Technical and Expert level meetings,” the president mentioned.
Asked if the problem of the TAPI pipeline may come up throughout talks, Sanjay Verma, Secretary West within the MEA, informed reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday that “it is a difficult neighbourhood if you look at the geography. So, in that sense, this itself was a task in negotiating the pipeline.”
“Thereafter it is on record that India has some concerns about the commercial and business aspect of the TAPI pipeline and that is being discussed,” he mentioned, including that the president’s go to will probably be one other alternative to “revisit where we stand” on this subject.
During the talks between President Kovind and his Turkmenistan counterpart, the 2 international locations additionally recognized new areas of cooperation akin to catastrophe administration. Kovind expressed India’s readiness to accomplice with Turkmenistan in its drive in direction of digitalisation and famous that Space will be one other space of mutually useful cooperation.
“Our countries share centuries-old civilisational and cultural linkages. During the talks, I underlined the importance of holding regular cultural events in each other’s territory. We emphasised on the need for both countries to cooperate closely on the effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected our population,” the president mentioned.
Turkmenistan is a crucial accomplice for India within the India-Central Asia Summit framework, the primary of which India hosted nearly in January this 12 months.
“We agreed to further enhance cooperation under the framework flowing from the India-Central Asia Summit,” he mentioned.
President Kovind additionally thanked Turkmenistan for its help to India’s everlasting membership in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council in addition to for India’s initiatives as a non-permanent member of UNSC for the interval of 2021-22.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned India connected significance to its relations with Turkmenistan.
“The state visit of the president will reaffirm the importance we attach to Turkmenistan, not only bilaterally but also in terms of our extended neighbourhood concept and role in India-Central Asia partnership,” Verma informed reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Turkmenistan possesses very massive reserves of pure gasoline.
“Turkmenistan is also strategically placed in Central Asia and connectivity is something on which we feel a partnership with Turkmenistan will pay dividends. We have offered a line of credit worth USD 1 billion to Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan,” Verma mentioned.
President Kovind’s journey to Turkmenistan will probably be adopted by a state go to to the Netherlands from April 4-7 on the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.