TELEPHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTS OF TURKMENISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN

On July 31, 2020, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani had a telephone conversation.

Warmly greeting each other, the Heads of friendly states have exchanged congratulations on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, has expressed confidence that this beautiful holiday, which symbolizes the triumph of high spiritual values like humanity, goodwill, and generosity, would contribute to the reinforcement of solidarity and unity in the entire Muslim community.

During the telephone conversation, a number of urgent issues of regional and global agenda have been discussed. In particular, the topic of the coronavirus pandemic, which has covered a huge geographic space, makes a negative impact on the life of many countries and nations.

Having highlighted that Turkmenistan entirely supports the activity of the world community in combating COVID-19, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed concern in the need for coordinated measures on the international level for successful combating of this threat that humankind is facing at the moment.

The Head of the State made special mention of the role of transit and transport corridor Lapis Lazuli, which was established under the Agreement signed between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.

In addition, the importance of such major projects in energy, transport and communication spheres, construction of TAPI gas line as well as Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan power and fiber optic lines, realization of which would serve to further strengthening of interstate relations, has been highlighted.

In this regard, the agreements reached during recent trilateral meetings of the Presidents of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan have become an important measure for the activation of this transport corridor and cooperation on a systematic base.