On April 12, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea to take part in the VII World Water Forum, met with Prince Albert II of the Principality of Monaco. In the course of the conversation, the parties exchanged opinions on the priority areas of bilateral relations, as well as on the topical issues of world policy of mutual interest. President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov and Prince Albert II expressed confidence that the current International Water Forum would become a new effective step towards further combining of efforts of the world community in this vital direction. Having confirmed adherence of their countries to the course of establishing effective partnership and expanding cooperation, including within the authoritative international organizations, the heads of states assigned the two countries’ foreign ministries to complete the work on establishing the political-diplomatic relations and opening the embassy of Turkmenistan in Monte Carlo and the embassy of Monaco in Ashgabat. In the course of the meeting, special emphasis was made on further development of cooperation established between Turkmenistan and Monaco in the field of space. As known, the first Turkmen satellite, for which the Principality of Monaco has offered Turkmenistan an orbital position, is to be launched in outer space soon. The parties also touched upon the issues of developing humanitarian contacts and promoting a dialogue in the field of culture, sports and tourism, given the experience of interaction and the two countries’ potential. In particular, accent was placed on the productivity of cooperation in development of circus arts. In this connection, a successful performance of riders of the “Galkynysh” Equestrian Group at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (founded by the Principality of Monaco) was mentioned. As was noted, achievements of Monaco in the recreation and entertainment industry, and evergrowing interest of the world tourism in Turkmenistan can give powerful impetus to the establishment of business relations and exchange of experience in these spheres, particularly, given the active development of the Turkmen seaside resort in the “Avaza” National Tourist Zone. At the end of the meeting, having positively assessed the prospects of partnership between the two countries, which, in mutual opinion, has considerable potential, the parties spoke in favor of bringing the cooperation to the qualitatively new level that meets present-day requirements and serves the interests of the two peoples. The head of Turkmen state invited the Prince of Monaco to participate in the celebrations to be held in Turkmenistan in honor of the 20th anniversary of neutrality. Having noted that the family passion of princes of Monaco for equestrian sport is well-known in our country, the Turkmen leader also invited Prince Albert II to pay a visit to Turkmenistan whenever it would be convenient to him to become acquainted with the work ongoing in our country on preserving the world-famous Akhalteke horses, which are the national pride of the Turkmen people. The invitation was gratefully accepted.