During a telephone conversation, the Presidents of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan discussed the development of bilateral cooperation.
According to ECO Cultural Institute quoting Fars News Agency correspondent in Bishkek, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had a telephone conversation . Beginning the conversation, the leaders of the two countries congratulated each other on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and underscored the development of friendly relations as well as unity in the Islamic world.
Pointing to the fact that bilateral cooperation between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan boosts on the basis of the principles of neighborliness, friendship and equality, Ashraf Ghani highlighted Berdimuhamedov's great role in the development of relations between the two countries. The two sides then exchanged views on global and regional issues, such as the Corona virus epidemic.
During the talks, Berdimuhamedov expressed full support of Turkmenistan government of the international community's efforts to fight Covid-19 and stressed the need to implement coordinated measures at international level to successfully overcome this challenge. Moreover, Turkmenistan President pointed to the key role of the new project 'Lapis Lazuli' transit and transport corridor which is being established by Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Launching this corridor will help increase trade between the countries of Central Asia, South Asia and Europe, and will
contribute to the development of trade and economic relations between the countries of the Eurasian continent. Berdimuhamedov also reiterated that the trilateral video conference of the Presidents of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan was a significant step in the implementation of this project and had positively affected the development of cooperation in this field.
Also during the conversation, issues of mutual cooperation in the fields of energy, transport and internet were discussed among which were the the construction of the transnational gas pipeline of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and the laying of a high-voltage power line and fiber-optic communication along the route Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan. In conclusion, Presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Mohammad Ashraf Ghani once again exchanged good wishes to each other and the peoples of the two countries.