RA President Serzh Sargsyan and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan summed up the results of their talks at a meeting with mass media representatives

Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan following the meeting with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan

Dear Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Once again, I wholeheartedly welcome the President of Turkmenistan in Yerevan. Indeed, the official visit to Armenia of the President of Turkmenistan added a special relish to the milestone being marked this year in the Armenian-Turkmen relations - the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan.

This very day twenty-four years ago – on August 24, 1993, the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty was signed between the Republic of Armenia and Turkmenistan. The above gives special significance to today’s visit, the results of which we are satisfactory.

During the visit, a broad range of documents on bilateral cooperation in a number of spheres was signed and a joint statement was issued by the two Heads of State.

We paid special attention to the promising areas for the development of trade and economic cooperation. Unfortunately, the adverse global market developments have affected our trade turnover. In this context, we explored ways and resources to stimulate bilateral economic cooperation in an effort to outline new horizons of interaction. We believe that the implementation of today’s agreements will get things right.

We concurred in that economic cooperation should be propped up by joint projects and a cooperative effort with special emphasis on innovation and high technologies.

We believe that the standing Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation will be able to reinvigorate the whole range of bilateral trade ties, promote diversification and launch new exciting projects.

In the context of economic exchanges, tourism and the subsequent expansion of contacts between the citizens of our countries, the possibility of direct flights between the two capitals was discussed. In this regard, we are prepared to offer to our Turkmen friends the full set of preferences envisaged in Armenia’s “open skies” policy.

Of course, we touched on the traditional areas of cooperation, including energy. We agreed to further develop effective cooperation in this area. Prospects are opening up in the sphere of agriculture. We expect our Turkmen partners to get involved in the activities of the free economic zone being created in Armenia.

I am confident that we can together implement large-scale projects based on modern technologies and new jobs, and develop our national economies in general. During today’s talks, my counterpart said he is not thinking about million-worth projects, but billion-worth ones. This inspires us, and we will certainly work in this direction.

As before, we will step up cooperation in the field of education, implement student and teacher exchange programs, which will undoubtedly help boost bilateral cooperation.
Of course, a special focus was placed on foreign policy issues. Armenia and Turkmenistan are successfully interacting in the international arena: we abide by close or coinciding positions on the most important international issues. In this context, we agreed to deepen cooperation in multilateral formats.

I once again reaffirmed Armenia’s position as for an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the norms and principles of international law, the provisions of the UN Charter, which call for the non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity, equality and peoples’ right to self-determination.

Both sides stressed the need for implementing the agreements aimed at preventing further escalation in the conflict zone, stabilizing the situation and providing the necessary for the advancement of the peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group as the only mediation format acknowledged by the international community.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, all Turkmen colleagues for an in-depth and useful exchange of views. Thank you very much.

I am confident that the agreements reached today will help us develop the whole range of truly friendly relations between Armenia and Turkmenistan.

Thank you.

Following the meeting with RA President Serzh Sargsyan, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan issued a statement for media representatives

The Turkmen leader noted that the sides reaffirmed their mutual desire to contribute to the strengthening of global peace and stability, establishment of principles of trust and mutual understanding in international relations. At the same time, readiness was expressed to develop partnership in this direction, both in the bilateral format, and within the UN, OSCE, CIS and other international structures.

According to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the parties agreed to consolidate the efforts aimed at countering the challenges and threats to international security, including in the fight against terrorism, transnational crime and illicit drug trafficking.

The President of Turkmenistan emphasized that the meeting strengthened the foundations for a qualitatively new and more dynamic partnership in the trade and economic spheres. Trade, energy, transport and communications, agriculture, healthcare and textile industry were seen as promising areas of cooperation in addition to the development of direct contacts and business ties between the business circles.

The Turkmen leader told reporters that the humanitarian aspect of bilateral relations had been given great attention during the talks, and an agreement was reached in support of the two peoples’ aspiration to closer communication, cultural and historical studies. Conditions will be created for creative cooperation between cultural and art workers of Turkmenistan and Armenia.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov reminded that this September the capital of Turkmenistan Ashkhabad will host the Fifth Asian Games of Indoor and Martial Arts. In this connection, President Serzh Sargsyan was invited to visit Turkmenistan to participate in the opening ceremony of the Games on September 17.