The President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, addressed the International Forum “The Great Silk Road: Towards New Frontiers of Development” that is being held at the Avaza Congress Hall in Turkmenbashi. The forum began after the picture-taking ceremony for the participants of this high-level meeting. In his opening remarks, the President of Turkmenistan expressed profound gratitude to all participants for accepting the invitation to attend the International Forum “The Great Silk Road: Towards New Frontiers of Development” and the opening of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport. Then President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov continued his welcoming address in Russian, one of the official languages of the UN. We are truly delighted to see high-level representatives of many countries, ministers, heads of international organizations, prominent diplomats, political and public figures from different corners of the world; such broad participation can quite rightly be viewed as a sign of respect for Turkmenistan, said the head of state. Speaking about the idea on convening this forum, the Turkmen leader noted that the time has come to give thorough and serious consideration to the significance of reviving the Great Silk Road in this century; to analyze those enormous opportunities it may open up for the development and progress of dozens of countries and hundreds of millions of people in the world. The Great Silk Road today is more than a traffic route between certain geographic locations. It takes on important political, humanitarian, philosophical dimension. Especially in current conditions, against the backdrop of complex, sometimes painful processes that we are witnessing. The Great Silk Roads aims to connect the East and the West, Asia and Europe, the peoples of these continents based on the principles of mutual respect, equality, trust, and promote mutual understanding and openness. Noting that in 2018 Turkmenistan celebrates the slogan “Turkmenistan is the Heart of the Great Silk Road”, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that throughout many centuries the territory of our country served as a crossroad of Eurasian routes, the meeting point for cultures, civilizations, customs and traditions. And today, at the new phase of our history, we revive timeless values of the Great Silk Road and do this together with our friends and likeminded allies all over the world. Issues that will be raised at the Forum are of tremendous practical significance in the context of modern trends of universal development. Global challenges affect all countries and regions and seriously influence the political and socio-economic situation. This is especially important for our region that is rapidly advancing towards becoming a key site for world politics, said the President of Turkmenistan. A brand new dimension, the transport diplomacy, co-founded by our country that initiated a substantive multilateral dialog on the issue within the UN and other international organizations, is better anchored in global cooperation today. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed his confidence that the substantive dialog on the role of the Great Silk Road will promote a better understanding between the countries, convergence of positions and development of innovative schemes and models of partnership in the long term.