Lagatar24 Desk
Ashgabat, April 2: President Ram Nath Kovind met with his Turkmenistan counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on Saturday at the Oguzhar Palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
President Kovind stated that the Chabahar port in Iran, which India developed, could be used to boost India-Central Asian trade links.
He suggested that India’s Chabahar port in Iran may be used to boost trade between India and Central Asia. “I pointed out that the Chabahar port built by India in Iran could be used to improve trade between India and Central Asia,” stated the President.
Four Memorandums of Understanding were signed by the two heads of state.
He went on to say that they emphasised the importance of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport and Transit Corridor.
The Financial Monitoring Service of Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Finance and Economy and India’s Financial Intelligence Unit inked the first MoU.
While the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the Republic of India signed their second Memorandum of Understanding on Disaster Management, the Program of Cooperation between the Governments of Turkmenistan and the Republic of India in the fields of Culture and Arts was signed for the period 2022-2025.
In the meantime, Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Sports and Youth Policy and India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports inked a third MoU on Cooperation in Youth Matters.
He went on to say that any trade relationship requires connectivity. Both leaders have identified new areas of cooperation, such as disaster management, on which they have signed an MoU today, according to the President.
“I conveyed India’s readiness to partner with Turkmenistan in its drive towards digitalization. Space can be another area of mutually beneficial cooperation,” he stated.
He went on to emphasise that the two countries had shared civilizational and cultural ties for generations.
“During the talks, I underlined the importance of holding regular cultural events in each other’s territory. I am sure the Programme of Cooperation on Culture and Arts for the period 2022-25, signed today, will give direction to our cultural cooperation,” he said.
Notably, President Ram Nath Kovind landed in Ashgabat International Airport in Turkmenistan for a three-day official visit earlier on Friday afternoon.
Soon after his arrival, President Kovind was greeted by a guard of honour in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital.
Following the conclusion of this visit on April 3, President Kovind will go to the Netherlands from April 4 to 7.
