Turkmenistan's Berdimuhamedov meets US official Paul Kapur on ties and neutrality

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, National Leader of the Turkmen people and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, met Paul Kapur, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. Kapur conveyed warm greetings and best wishes from US President Donald Trump. He said the United States attaches great importance to the consistent development of cooperation with Turkmenistan and praised the architecture of the Turkmen capital.

Berdimuhamedov said active political dialogue has been conducted between the two countries in recent years. He cited the Turkmen president's working visit to Washington in November last year for the C5+1 summit, where he held productive talks with Trump. Kapur's visit will include participation in Turkmen-American political consultations. Both sides stressed that the United States consistently supports Turkmenistan's independence and its status of permanent neutrality, which Kapur said his country respects.

The two sides also noted long-standing positive experience of cooperation with American companies including Nicklaus Design, John Deere, Case New Holland and Boeing. The Turkmenistan-USA Business Council recently held a session in Ashgabat. Berdimuhamedov praised US support for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. The leaders confirmed their readiness for further long-term and multifaceted cooperation at the close of the meeting.