On May 4, the capital of Italy hosted talks between President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov and President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella. The motorcade of the President of Turkmenistan arrived at the square in front of the Quirinal Palace – the official residence of the head of Italy. The Turkmen leader was invited to the Hall of Ceremonies, located on the second floor of the Palace, where the head of Turkmen state was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Italy. The heads of two states proceeded to the office of the President of Italy to hold the talks in the one-to-one format. Then, the talks were held with participation of members of the government delegations of Turkmenistan and the Republic of Italy. Grateful to the President of Italy for the warm reception and hospitality, extended to the delegation of our country, the President of Turkmenistan, taking advantage of the opportunity, congratulated his Italian colleague on the opening of the “EXPO-2015” World Exhibition, devoted to such an important topic for the world community as food issues. As the nation’s leader emphasized, the Turkmen-Italian relations, built on the principles of mutual respect, friendship and understanding are currently being filled with new content. Top-level bilateral meetings contribute to this as well. In this context, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov has accentuated that Turkmenistan and Italy have great potential for the implementation of joint projects in such significant areas as energy, agriculture, transport and communications, as well as tourism. Our country expresses its readiness and interest in large-scale partnership with Italian colleagues. As the Turkmen leader stressed, this year our country is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly “On the status of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan”, which was unanimously voted for by the UN member states. In this connection, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov invited his Italian counterpart to participate in the high-level conference, dedicated to the anniversary, to be held in Ashgabat in December this year. In continuation of the subject on the bilateral relations, the Turkmen leader emphasized the importance of strengthening the cultural and humanitarian relations. The peoples of Turkmenistan and Italy have rich historical and cultural heritage. Our countries’ Culture Days, thematic exhibitions and conferences will promote further deepening of the fruitful cooperation between the two countries, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov said. Noting the rapid pace of the development of Turkmen-Italian cooperation in the trade and economic sphere, the nation’s leader stated the availability of considerable potential for progressive promotion of the productive partnership to achieve much higher indices. From the Quirinal Palace, the motorcade of the President of Turkmenistan proceeded to the airport of Rome, from where the nation’s leader departed for his home country.