PM Arrives In Turkmenistan On Two-day Visit

ASHGABAT, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Nov, 2016 ) : Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif arrived here 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 Minsiter is undertaking the visit at the invitation of the President of Turkmenistan, 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, will 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 will be conducive to tapping the potential of trade, economic interaction, people-to-people contacts and tourism," according to a statement by Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The statement added that Pakistan and China had launched China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to provide seamless connectivity to Gwadar and Karachi ports. During the visit, the Prime Minister will also hold a bilateral meeting with the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

"The meeting of Prime Minister will provide a valuable opportunity to review the decisions taken during two visits of the Prime Minister to Turkmenistan in 2015 and the Turkmen President's visit to Pakistan in March 2016, as well as exchange views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest," the statement said. APP/shm/mub