On October 3, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov received the European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation, Ms. Jutta Urpilainen.

Expressing deep gratitude to the head of the Turkmen state for the time allocated for the meeting and the opportunity to discuss the prospects for developing the established productive dialogue in person, the guest took the opportunity to convey warm greetings and best wishes to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty, Hero-Arkadag, who has made a significant personal contribution to strengthening traditional relations between Turkmenistan and EU countries.

Warmly welcoming the European Commissioner for International Cooperation to the ancient and hospitable Turkmen land, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov wished success to the high-level meeting on the launch of the Trans-Caspian Coordination Platform for Transport Crossings, expressing confidence that the agreements reached would contribute to the further development of cooperation between the European Union and the Central Asian region.

"Turkmenistan attaches great importance to interaction with the European Union in the political-diplomatic, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian spheres," noted the head of state, with satisfaction stating that in recent years, the partnership between our country and the European Union has been developing at a high level.

It was particularly emphasized that long-term relations are constantly improving both on a bilateral and multilateral basis, particularly in the format of "Central Asia–European Union."

During the meeting, there was an interested exchange of views on the current state and priority areas for the development of constructive cooperation, built on a basis of trust and mutual respect.

It was noted that several projects with the European Union in the fields of science and education, ecology, energy, and transport corridors are being successfully implemented in our country.

Touching upon the issues of creating new transport corridors, the interlocutors were unanimous in the opinion that, given Turkmenistan's advantageous geographical location, the improvement of this system is one of the most important issues of modernity.

Particularly emphasizing Turkmenistan's role as a reliable transport bridge between Asia and Europe, Jutta Urpilainen highly appreciated our country's active position in expanding multilateral interaction between the EU and Central Asia in the field of transport.

"As is known, the creation of environmentally friendly, safe, efficient, and reliable transport corridors is necessary to support sustainable economic and social development and is extremely important in strengthening international cooperation and trade relations between countries," said President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

It was noted that a number of large-scale projects for the development of transportation in the Eurasian space are being gradually implemented in our country.

Together with the countries of the region and reputable international organizations, Turkmenistan is actively developing such promising transport corridors as North-South and East-West. In this regard, the head of state expressed confidence that these corridors would become a reliable bridge for the development of cooperation and trade-economic ties between the countries of the Eurasian continent.

"We highly value our partnership with the European Union," emphasized the head of state, expressing the readiness of the Turkmen side to further strengthen fruitful ties.

At the end of the meeting, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, exchanged mutual good wishes, expressing confidence in the successful implementation of all planned projects.