Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, who is going to pay a
visit to China shortly, says developing ties with China has special
significance for his country.
Relations between Turkmenistan and China enjoy a long history of
development, characterized by exchanges on the ancient Silk Road
linking China and Central Asian nations, including Turkmenistan,
Niyazov said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
After Turkmenistan won independence in 1991, China was among the
first countries to recognize the independent sovereignty of the
Central Asian country and open an embassy in the capital Ashkhabad,
said Niyazov.
Since then, China has provided Turkmenistan with assistance in
an all-round way to help the latter build an independence state, he
added.
Niyazov said he and President Hu Jintao discussed ways of
carrying out mutually beneficial cooperation between their two
countries, especially in the field of oil and natural gas, when
they met in Moscow last May.
Noting the good prospects for bilateral cooperation in the
field, Niyazov said the two countries are currently considering
plans to lay a natural gas pipeline from the Amu-darya River region
in Turkmenistan to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in
northwest China.
Chinese firms are most welcome to come to Turkmenistan to help
tap the oil resources around the Caspian Sea areas, and they can
also join in the exploitation in the existing land-based natural
gas fields, said Niyazov.
Turkmenistan and China have always supported each other in
political affairs, he said, adding that the two countries can
discuss any issue of mutual concern, reach a consensus and then
conduct cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit.
China has Turkmenistan's full support for its principled stand
on reunification across the Taiwan Straits, he said.
He said China is on a road of rapid development and has become
one of the most important countries in the world.
Turkmenistan pays high tribute to China's role in maintaining
peace and promoting security in Central Asia, he said, adding that
he was looking forward to meeting President Hu and other Chinese
leaders.
(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2006)
