Turkmenistan, China discuss joint actions against pandemic

AKIPRESS.COM - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov on Sunday, with both sides calling for solidarity and cooperation in global efforts against COVID-19 and stop of politicizing the pandemic, Trend reports citing Xinhua. China has always highly valued the development of friendly relations with Turkmenistan and treated Turkmenistan as a good friend, a good brother and a good partner, Wang said.
Stressing that Chinese President Xi Jinping attaches importance to establishing trust and friendship with his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Wang said the two heads of state have kept close contact and provided strategic guidance to the development of the bilateral ties.
Despite the changing international and regional situation, China will not change its policy of developing friendly relations with Turkmenistan, Wang said.
In the conversation, Wang also expressed appreciation over Turkmenistan's support for China in combating the pandemic and commended the Central Asian country's strict prevention and control measures.
The two sides should sign as soon as possible cooperation documents to align the initiative of jointly building the Belt and Road with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Silk Road, and continue to maintain and develop long-term, stable and strategic cooperation on such traditional fields as natural gas, he said.
Meredov said that Turkmenistan has always been committed to strengthening traditional friendly relations with China, and is willing to maintain contact at the top level and between various departments of the two countries in a flexible manner, and promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
The Turkmen side believes that the Hong Kong and Xinjiang issues are purely China's internal affairs, and according to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, no country has the right to interfere, he added.