Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House on Tuesday afternoon.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif fondly recalled his recent meeting with the Grand Leader of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, in Astana earlier this month and expressed his anticipation of welcoming H.E. Berdimuhamedov to Pakistan soon.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the recent 3rd Round of Pakistan-Turkmenistan Bilateral Political Consultations, which was led by the foreign ministers of both countries. He emphasized the importance of regular engagement through institutional mechanisms and highlighted the need to enhance trade, economic, investment, and cultural relations between Pakistan and Turkmenistan. PM Shehbaz invited Turkmen companies to take advantage of Pakistan’s favorable investment climate and underscored the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in assisting foreign investors across various sectors. Additionally, he stressed the significance of regional cooperation and connectivity, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to the early completion of the TAPI Pipeline and other connectivity projects.
On Tuesday, Pakistan and Turkmenistan agreed to further enhance high-level dialogue and exchanges at the leadership level, recognizing the positive trajectory of their bilateral relations. This was discussed during the Third Round of Pakistan-Turkmenistan Bilateral Political Consultations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar led the Pakistan delegation, while Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, led the Turkmenistan delegation, as per a Foreign Office press release.
Both sides reviewed their bilateral relations, including trade, investment, energy cooperation, connectivity, and people-to-people linkages. They agreed to intensify joint efforts to expand and deepen cooperation in political, economic, and defense domains. Furthermore, closer economic engagement was discussed in priority areas such as trade, investment, energy, connectivity, and information technology. Projects like the TAPI Pipeline and TAP Electricity Transmission Line were also on the agenda.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister emphasized Pakistan’s commitment to enhancing bilateral trade and economic ties. He called for the early finalization of the Transit Trade Agreement and liberalization of the visa regime to facilitate businesspersons.
Both parties also decided to increase legislative participation, improve cultural exchanges, provide educational scholarships and training for diplomats, and fortify people-to-people ties. Additionally, they committed to collaborating closely to enhance communication and cooperation in multilateral forums including the Economic Cooperation Organization and the United Nations. Mutually concerning regional and worldwide topics were also covered, including the state of affairs in Afghanistan and the Indian-occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
During the meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Rashid Meredov, the latter stressed the significance of deepening bilateral ties with Turkmenistan in all areas of shared interest. In addition to stressing that the high-level visitation exchange shows a shared goal to deepen bilateral understanding and cooperation, he restated Pakistan’s strong commitment to its partnership with Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan’s commitment to expanding cultural, educational, and commercial cooperation with Pakistan was communicated by Foreign Minister Meredov. He emphasized how crucial it is to build roads and railroads across Afghanistan in order to link the two nations. Meredov also gave the President of Pakistan the greetings of the Turkmen leadership.
