Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 21
By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:
The Turkmen delegation took part in the 7th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum held in Nanning city, the administrative center of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Trend reports referring to the Turkmenistan State News Agency.
The event was organized by the Chinese Committee of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Foreign Affairs Office of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the people’s government of the region.
The meeting brought together representatives of various sectors of the economy from Turkmenistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) including heads of government agencies and the private sector, as well as delegates from international organizations.
The China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum, established in 2012, has become an effective platform for strengthening mutual understanding among the regions and expanding mutually beneficial partnership, the report said.
The main topics discussed by delegates from Central Asian countries with their Chinese counterparts covered issues of strengthening cooperation to improve the interconnectedness of landlocked and not landlocked regions and stimulating overall progress through innovations, the report said.
On the sidelines of the panel sessions, joint plans in the field of cross-border logistics, e-commerce and the joint construction of smart cities were discussed.
China and Turkmenistan established diplomatic relations in 1992. China has become a key buyer of Turkmen gas and expects to bring annual purchases to 65 billion cubic meters. China is also actively cooperating with Turkmenistan in the supply of equipment and services for transport and communications.
Ashgabat and Beijing also agreed to take measures to stimulate and protect mutual investments, support commercial facilities for operating in their countries.
In 1992, bilateral trade between Turkmenistan and China amounted to only $4.5 million, and in 2018 it reached $8.4 billion.
Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news