Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf terming the regional connectivity an important factor to drive economic growth has invited Turkmenistan to join efforts to boost regional connectivity through air, land, and sea. He also impressed upon the need for mutual cooperation in the energy sector to ease out the energy requirements of the country.

These views were expressed by him during his meeting with Mr. Atadjan Movlamov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan and Dean of Diplomatic Corps to Pakistan and Mr. Hemra Annamuhammedov, 3rd Secretary of Turkmenistan at the Parliament House on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Pakistan highly regards its relationship with Turkmenistan and extended gratitude for the timely humanitarian assistance provided to the flood-affected people of Pakistan. He also highlighted Pakistan's vision of building sustainable and result-oriented engagement with Central Asian Republics through its "Vision Central Asia" Policy, which focuses on five key areas: political, trade and investment, energy and connectivity, security and defense, and people-to-people exchanges.

The Speaker NA emphasized the importance of parliamentary exchanges between the two countries, recalling the visit of H.E. Mrs. Akja Nurberdiyeva, former Chairperson of the Mejlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan, to Pakistan in 2016. He urged Turkmenistan to sign the Charter of the Parliamentary Assembly of Economic Cooperation Organization (PAECO) to further strengthen parliamentary ties. With regards to trade and investment, the Speaker underlined the need to enhance bilateral trade and investment, and invited Turkmenistan to avail of Pakistan's Gwadar, Bin Qasim, and Karachi seaports for its trade connectivity with the Middle East, Africa, and beyond.

Raja Pervez Ashraf also expressed Pakistan's commitment to the timely completion of the TAPI gas pipeline project and the TAP power transmission projects, and welcomed the productive meetings of the technical delegation led by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Musadik Malik, during his visit to Turkmenistan in September 2022.

The Ambassador of Turkmenistan expressed his satisfaction with the current state of bilateral relations between the two countries and registered his willingness for further strengthening of political, economic, and cultural ties. The meeting was held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, and both sides expressed their resolve to work together for the mutual benefit of their respective countries and the region.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP