Various areas of interstate cooperation were discussed at a meeting between Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atajan Movlamov and President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, held on April 1 at the Ivan-e-Sadr presidential palace, according to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

 “The parties discussed the agenda of Turkmen-Pakistani relations, covering various areas of interstate interaction. It was stated that cooperation between Turkmenistan and Pakistan is developing on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutually beneficial partnership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes.

 The Ambassador of Turkmenistan conveyed words of congratulations and wishes on behalf of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, addressed to the President of Pakistan in connection with his assumption of the post of president of the country for the second time.

 In turn, Asif Ali Zardari expressed gratitude to the leadership of Turkmenistan for the kind words and asked to convey best wishes for peace and prosperity to the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and thanked them for their congratulations on his election.

 At the conclusion of the meeting, Asif Ali Zardari said that Pakistan attaches special importance to bilateral relations with Turkmenistan.

 It should be noted that Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the 14th President of Pakistan following the elections held on March 9 this year.

 Turkmenistan and Pakistan are participants in a major project to build the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

 At the end of March, Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atajan Movlamov met with Pakistan's Minister of State for Petroleum Musadiq Malik, who during the conversation noted that the TAPI gas pipeline is a flagship project and expressed a strong commitment to its further advancement.

 Meetings of the intergovernmental commission and working groups of Turkmenistan and Paskistan are planned for 2024, during which, among other topics, the construction of the transnational TAPI gas pipeline will also be discussed.