Daily Times

ASHGABAT: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met on Friday and discussed matters of bilateral interests.

The two sides discussed matters related to Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and re-establishing of air links between their countries, a statement from the PM House said. The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Earlier, the prime minister arrived in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat to lead the country’s delegation at the first-ever Global Conference on Sustainable Transport. The prime minister is accompanied by his Adviser on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqi and Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.

The prime minister is undertaking the visit at the invitation of the Turkmenistan president, who is co-hosting the conference along with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The conference, likely to be attended by around 1,500 participants including heads of state and government, ministers, civil society leaders and the UN officials, would discuss promotion and the role of sustainable transport towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Pakistan is keen to improve connectivity with Central Asian States by establishing transport and communication links. These would be conducive to tapping the potential of trade, economic interaction, people-to-people contacts and tourism,” an earlier statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated. The statement said Pakistan and China had launched China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to provide seamless connectivity to Gwadar and Karachi ports.