Turkmen president talks up railroad line to China
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 5 August 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkmen president talks up railroad line to China, 5 August 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55ee966915.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Last updated (GMT/UTC): 05.08.2015 11:15
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (left) and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev meet in Bishkek on August 5.
BISHKEK – Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has pledged to move forward in constructing a railroad line from Turkmenistan to China.
Berdymukhammedov, on his first official visit to Kyrgyzstan on August 5, said after talks with Kyrgyz counterpart Almazbek Atambaev that the two discussed energy and security issues that hold "great importance for the whole world."
"The construction of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China via Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan will be implemented in the very near future," Berdymukhammedov said, without elaborating.
Atambaev said Berdymukhammedov's two-day visit to Bishkek was "the new phase of the development of ties between the two nations."
Atambaev also accepted an invitation to visit Ashgabat in 2016.
The two leaders signed 15 documents on mutual cooperation in education, energy, transportation, science, and technology on the first day of Berdymukhammedov's visit.
On the eve of the Turkmen president's visit, a Kyrgyz-Turkmen business forum was held in Bishkek on August 4.
Atambaev made his first official visit to Ashgabat as Kyrgyzstan's leader in November.
Berdymukhammedov's trip to Bishkek is a rare meeting between the leader of Central Asia's only democratic country, Kyrgyzstan, and the autocratic head of the region's most-closed country, Turkmenistan.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
