India and Turkmenistan signed four agreements, including in financial intelligence and disaster management, as President Ram Nath Kovind met his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov here on Saturday and agreed to expand bilateral trade and energy cooperation to further strengthen the multifaceted partnership.
This is the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent Turkmenistan and comes just after the inauguration of new Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov.
During his meeting today with the President of Turkmenistan Berdimuhamedov, President Kovind held a detailed discussion on the state and prospects of bilateral relations and also exchanged views on various regional and international issues of importance.
“We have agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen our multifaceted partnership. Economic relations strengthen bilateral ties. We agreed to do more to expand bilateral trade which has remained modest. Our business communities must deepen their engagement, understand each other’s regulations and identify new areas of trade and investment,” the president said in a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The two leaders highlighted the significance of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport and Transit Corridor.
President Kovind pointed out that the Chabahar port built by India in Iran could be used to improve trade between India and Central Asia.
“Cooperation in energy was one of the key areas of our discussions today. On the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, I suggested that issues related to the security of the pipeline and key business principles may be addressed in Technical and Expert level meetings,” the president said.
Asked if the issue of the TAPI pipeline could come up during talks, Sanjay Verma, Secretary West in the MEA, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday that "it is a difficult neighbourhood if you look at the geography. So, in that sense, this itself was a task in negotiating the pipeline." "Thereafter it is on record that India has some concerns about the commercial and business aspect of the TAPI pipeline and that is being discussed," he said, adding that the president's visit will be another opportunity to "revisit where we stand" on this issue.
During the talks between President Kovind and his Turkmenistan counterpart, the two countries also identified new areas of cooperation such as disaster management. Mr Kovind expressed India’s readiness to partner with Turkmenistan in its drive towards digitalisation and noted that Space can be another area of mutually beneficial cooperation.
“Our countries share centuries-old civilisational and cultural linkages. During the talks, I underlined the importance of holding regular cultural events in each other’s territory. We emphasised on the need for both countries to cooperate closely on the effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected our population,” the president said.
Turkmenistan is an important partner for India in the India–Central Asia Summit framework, the first of which India hosted virtually in January this year.
“We agreed to further enhance cooperation under the framework flowing from the India-Central Asia Summit,” he said.
President Kovind also thanked Turkmenistan for its support to India’s permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council as well as for India’s initiatives as a non-permanent member of UNSC for the period of 2021-22.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs said India attached importance to its relations with Turkmenistan.
"The state visit of the president will reaffirm the importance we attach to Turkmenistan, not only bilaterally but also in terms of our extended neighbourhood concept and role in India-Central Asia partnership," Mr Verma told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Turkmenistan possesses very large reserves of natural gas.
"Turkmenistan is also strategically placed in Central Asia and connectivity is something on which we feel a partnership with Turkmenistan will pay dividends. We have offered a line of credit worth $ 1 billion to Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan," Mr Verma said.
President Kovind's trip to Turkmenistan will be followed by a state visit to the Netherlands from April 4-7 at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.
