Visiting Turkmenistan president accorded official welcome

PUTRAJAYA: Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, was accorded an official welcome at Perdana Putra here today.

Berdimuhamedov was greeted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak upon his arrival.

After the national anthems of the Turkmenistan and Malaysia were played, the president inspected a guard-of-honour mounted by 106 officers and men from the 1st Battalion Royal Malay Regiment.

Berdimuhamedov, accompanied by Najib, was introduced to the cabinet ministers, senior government officials and foreign diplomats present. Najib and Berdimuhamedov then held talks.

Malaysia's Foreign Ministry in a statement said the meeting would allow the two leaders to take stock of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the oil and gas sector, as well as explore other possible areas of collaboration. Petronas is actively involved in Turkmenistan.

The statement said it would also be an opportunity for the two leaders to exchange views on a range of global and regional issues of common concern.

The two leaders are also scheduled to sign a joint statement and witness the signing of the protocol amending the Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Sports aimed at boosting cooperation between the two countries.

This is the second visit by President Berdimuhamedov to Malaysia. His first was in 2011. — Bernama