President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov made an address by the digital system at the International Forum on Northern Economic Cooperation, which was held on Thursday in Seoul (Republic of Korea) in a hybrid format.

 The agenda of the High-Level Forum, held with the participation of the President of the Republic of Korea and the heads of a number of states, highlighted the priority issues of the Eurasian partnership.

 The text of the video message of the Turkmen leader is published today by the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.

 In his speech, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed that “Turkmenistan highly appreciates the long-term fruitful cooperation with the Republic of Korea in a number of areas that are an integral part of the“ New North Policy ”of the Republic of Korea.  The Turkmen leader also said that «there are great prospects for joint work on the implementation of projects in high-tech industries».

 In this regard, the President drew attention to the similarity of the initiatives arising from the «New Northern Policy» of the Republic of Korea and the strategic course of Turkmenistan «Revival of the Great Silk Road».

 “These two Programs include a set of measures affecting the development of infrastructure, green economy, energy, transport and environmental safety, digitalization of the economy and a number of other areas,” the Turkmen leader said.

 At the same time, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea “will be able to start implementing new joint projects in the near future.

 The President of Turkmenistan in his video message also stated the need to completely de-politicize the problem of coronavirus.

 “Today, the real state of affairs requires a joint approach in combating the pandemic and minimizing the negative socio-economic and humanitarian consequences caused by its expansion,” Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said, noting that “faced with a global threat, the world community, unfortunately, could not  timely and effectively counteract it”.

 In this regard, the Turkmen leader expressed his conviction that «the only way to successfully overcome this crisis is to unite the intellectual, material, financial and other resources of all states of the world».

 “We are aware of the need to completely depoliticize the problem of coronavirus and eliminate the practice of its use in interstate relations as an instrument of influence,” Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized.

 Acting as a multilateral platform for promoting economic cooperation on the Eurasian continent, this Forum annually brings together prominent statesmen, representatives of business circles, world-renowned experts, as well as members of international and regional organizations.  This year the Forum started under the slogan “30 years of northern cooperation: towards a future of peace and prosperity”.