Gilani, Gurbanguly agree to boost bilateral ties
ISLAMABAD, Nov 14 (APP): President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday agreed to strengthen bilateral relations through increased  cooperation in diverse fields The two leaders, who met here at the Prime Minister House followed by talks between the delegations of two countries, emphasized that the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) should hold regular meetings to explore the avenues of enhancing cooperation in the fields of energy, trade, science and technology, railway, exchange of parliamentary delegations, cultural exchanges, media exchanges, students and people-to-people contacts.
During the talks, Prime Minister Gilani was assisted by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Minister for Textile Industry Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and senior officials. The Turkmen President was aided by his delegation.  
 Prime Minister Gilani said that the JMC would be assigned the task to give impetus to the relations in the fields of construction, agro-based industries, investment and trade and added that the people of two countries could benefit immensely from each other’s experiences in the fields of technical and other industries.
 The Prime Minister said that both the countries were strategic  partners and Pakistan could provide Turkmenistan corridor over land and sea routes, which would set in motion mutual economic complimentarities for the benefit of their people.
 The Prime Minister said that Pakistan supported the energy corridor - TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and also wanted to import 1000 MW electricity from Turkmenistan.
 The Turkmen President said that his country was ready to export electricity to Pakistan and also gas from the newly discovered gas field which also has the geographical proximity with Pakistan.
 The two sides also agreed that the two foreign ministers would meet regularly, followed by the expert level meeting to evolve operational strategies. They would also deliberate upon finding ways and means to liberalize the visa regime between the two countries.
 The Prime Minister also offered assistance in the field of Information Technology (IT), adding that he would soon send the Secretary IT to Turkmenistan to discuss the subject in detail.
 Prime Minister Gilani said that the Senior Minister would also undertake the visit and discuss matters pertaining to the export and manufacturing of cement in Turkmenistan.
 The Turkmen President proposed the holding of an Investment Forum at Ashkabad.
 The Prime Minister said that he would send the Chairman, Board of Investment, and the Chairman of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan to seek out prospects of greater cooperation in different sectors.
 He also called for collaboration in the fields of banking and in  this regard a State Bank of Pakistan delegation would visit Turkmenistan for further consultation. Enhancement of trade cannot be realized without the connectivity and the financial institutional regime, the Prime Minister said.
 The Turkmen President extended invitation to the Prime Minister, which he accepted, saying that he would be looking forward to visit Turkmenistan.
 Later, Pakistan and Turkmenistan inked five agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, media and culture.
 Prime Minister Gilani and Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov witnessed the signing of accords as the representatives from both the countries inked the documents, in a ceremony held at the Prime Minister House.
 Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov signed the MoU on cooperation between the foreign ministries of two countries.
 Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Turkmen Minister for Culture Gulmurad Muradov inked the agreement on cooperation between Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Turkmen News State Service.
 The agreement on gas sales purchase relating to the gas pipeline project of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India was inked by Managing Director of Inter-State Gas System Mubeen Saulat and Chairman of Turkmenistan Gas Trade Concern Amanali Hanalyev.
 The MoU on cooperation between Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan was signed by Federal Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Turkmen Minister Bayar Abayev.
 The MoU on cultural cooperation was inked by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Turkmen Culture Minister Gulmurad Muradov.