On June 8th, Esteemed President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received the newly appointed head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat, John McGregor, who began to fulfill his mission.

Expressing his sincere gratitude for the time allotted, the newly appointed head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat conveyed warm greetings to the Leader of the Nation from the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who addressed his best wishes to the entire Turkmen people. At the same time, they noted the high interest of the OSCE in strengthening a fruitful dialogue with neutral Turkmenistan.

Having conveyed greetings in return to the head of an authoritative international organization, the esteemed President reaffirmed our country's commitment to traditional cooperation covering a wide range of areas.

Congratulating the newly appointed head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat on his appointment to a responsible post and wishing him success in his work, the Head of State stressed that, as a full member of the OSCE, Turkmenistan stands for the activation of a multi-vector partnership that meets the goals of common well-being.

During the conversation, an exchange of views took place on the prospects for further cooperation, the result of which is a number of implemented and currently ongoing joint projects in various fields. Based on the existing potential and priority tasks of regional and world development, such areas as the digital economy, sustainable energy and energy security, transport and optimization of the functioning of transit corridors, the introduction of advanced technologies, issues related to climate change, rational use of water resources, the Aral Sea region are also topical areas of interaction.

Along with this, a high assessment was given to the bilateral partnership in the humanitarian field, including taking into account the comprehensive democratic reforms being implemented in Turkmenistan, improving national legislation based on modern realities and the implementation of universally recognized norms of international law. In this aspect, the constructive nature of the established contacts between our country and the relevant structures of the OSCE, along the line of inter-parliamentary ties, was noted.

They also reaffirmed the importance of further consolidating efforts in the fight against modern challenges and threats at the regional and international level, including combating cross-border crime, terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, and ensuring cyber security.

In this context, they noted the relevance of the national leader's initiatives to declare this year the International Year of Peace and Trust, to effectively use the mechanisms of preventive, energy and transport diplomacy, to peacefully resolve the situation in Afghanistan and its socio-economic revival. Here, a special role is assigned to the implementation of large infrastructure projects in the energy, transport and communication sectors with the involvement of the Afghan side. Among them is the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, a steel pipeline, power lines and fiber-optic communications.

Expressing gratitude to the esteemed President for the attention paid to the issues of interaction with this authoritative organization, and stressing that it is a great honor for him to be in Turkmenistan, the newly appointed head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat assured that, for his part, he would fully contribute to the further development of the long-term trusting a partnership built on the principles of mutual respect and sustainability.