The meeting was held during Mikhail Mishustin’s working visit to Turkmenistan.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin with Speaker of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
Mikhail Mishustin with Speaker of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
Mikhail Mishustin with Speaker of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
Mikhail Mishustin’s conversation with Speaker of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
Mikhail Mishustin with Speaker of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov: Mr Mishustin,
I would like to welcome you and the members of your delegation to Turkmenistan. This is your first visit.
We see in the Russian Federation not only our strategic partner but also our closest friends, a friendly country. We have recently celebrated 30 years of our diplomatic relations.
Speaking of political issues, we are grateful that you were among the first to support our neutral status. And today, Turkmenistan has been twice recognised by the world community as a neutral state. Our international initiatives are supported on this basis.
The trade and economic sphere, as well as cultural and humanitarian issues play an important role in our cooperation. There is an effective body for trade and economic relations between our countries, it is the intergovernmental commission on economic issues. And today we cooperate in energy, agriculture and construction. In recent years we have also given importance to transport and communications, transport and transit corridors have developed well and logistics have been properly delineated.
Today the global economy and geopolitics are changing, so we need to find the right units of measurement between us – and we have solid experience in this – to find points of overlap on these very issues. That is why I would like our intergovernmental commission to work in this direction as well as on cooperation.
The cultural and humanitarian spheres have also been part of our cooperation at all times. You visited our Turkmen-Russian school named after Alexander Pushkin. We have more than 70 specialised Russian schools alone, to say nothing of those joint Russian language schools throughout the country. We are actively working in this area everywhere. This year is designated as the Year of Russian Language, and on the initiative of the esteemed President we are going to lay the foundation of Turkmen-Russian University.
And there are many examples of this kind. A lot is being done in healthcare.
The President also pointed out the development of sports between our countries. You know, we have a good resource base for holding competitions in various sports, up to the level of world championships.
The President proclaimed this year the Year of Youth, and we could do a lot to promote sports under this banner.
Your visit will provide a good impetus to strengthen our cooperation, and therefore I would like to wish you successful work during your visit.
Please pass on our best wishes to President Vladimir Putin, Valentina Matviyenko (she is an honourary citizen of our capital) and our friend Vyacheslav Volodin.
Welcome once again.
Mikhail Mishustin: Mr Berdimuhamedov,
I would like to sincerely thank you for the warm reception. Yesterday, we had a packed day. Among other things, the Russian delegation toured Ashgabat. It’s a beautiful city.
Allow me to convey to you the best wishes and kind regards from President of Russia Vladimir Putin, who said that he is always looking forward to seeing you. I also want to thank you for paying much attention to the development of Russia-Turkmenistan relations.
Last November, you visited Moscow. An inter-parliamentary commission was established. Valentina Matviyenko, who is a great fan of your country and is fond of Turkmenistan, also sends you her best regards. Vyacheslav Volodin is planning to pay an official visit to Turkmenistan shortly.
I would like to say that in trade and the economy, an area we are focusing on with many projects in the offing, we have a number of options, which you, Mr Berdimuhamedov, have mentioned. Of course, I must particularly note our projects in energy, industry, digital sphere, transport, culture, and humanitarian field.
We have visited an excellent school named after Alexander Pushkin. I admired the students. They recited verses in Turkmen, told us about poetry, literature and culture, and asked questions about higher educational institutions, among other things. This is a symbol of friendship. I told them that if they were going to strengthen friendship between our two nations, it will be result of studying at this school.
Of course, it is worth noting that many regions of the Russian Federation cooperate with Turkmenistan. Mr Berdimuhamedov, we have counted 60 Russian regions that maintain friendly ties – trade, economic, industrial, and cultural – with Turkmenistan. Leaders of three regions have come here. I am referring to the President of Tatarstan, who traditionally works with and has many friends among Turkmenistani colleagues; the Astrakhan Region, which is also quite active; and St Petersburg, which has likewise sent its representatives.
There are many students from Turkmenistan studying at Russian universities. We have specified the figure – 30,000 – and we are very pleased about this. There are government quotas: 250 positions. We are very happy that young people from Turkmenistan travel to Russia.
We keep a common memory of the Great Patriotic War, of our fathers and grandfathers who sacrificed their lives. These days, we are marking the 80th anniversary of breaking the siege of Leningrad and the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. The soldiers at the war fronts and home front workers committed an unparalleled feat of valour. These were our joint efforts. I know about a lot of Turkmens who fought heroically. Today, we visited the People’s Memory memorial complex and paid tribute to the fallen. I would like to thank you for this caring attitude to our common history.
Thank you once again. Mr Berdimuhamedov, I am ready to discuss all current issues with you.
