New Delhi: India and Turkmenistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding, during President Ram Nath Kovind’s state visit to Turkmenistan on Saturday, on the issue of financial intelligence even as the two sides discussed TAPI pipeline for energy security and shared a broad regional consensus on the Afghanistan issue, reported news agency IANS.
"The MoU between the Financial Intelligence Unit of India and Financial Monitoring Service of Turkmenistan signed today would strengthen the framework of economic cooperation between the two countries," said President Ram Nath Kovind in his statement during his visit to Turkmenistan.
President Kovind is first ever Indian President to pay a state visit to Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan was established 30 years ago and this year also marks the country's three decades of diplomatic ties with India.
As both the countries share their borders with Afghanistan, the President said, "We share a broad regional consensus on the issues related to Afghanistan, which includes formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, central role of the UN, providing immediate humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan and preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities."
Stating that connectivity is critical for any trading arrangement, President Kovind said, "Towards this end, we highlighted the significance of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport and Transit Corridor. I pointed out that the Chabahar port built by India in Iran could be used to improve trade between India and Central Asia."
The President's statement came following his meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, wherein a detailed discussion was held on the state and prospects of bilateral relations; exchanged views on various regional and international issues of importance and agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen the multifaceted partnership between the two countries, a communique from the President's Secretariat said.
The President also drew attention to the another key area of discussion about the cooperation in energy as he said: "On the TAPI pipeline, I suggested that issues related to security of the pipeline and key business principles may be addressed in Technical and Expert level meetings."
An MoU for cooperation in Disaster Management was also signed by the two nations. India conveyed its readiness to partner with Turkmenistan in its drive towards digitalisation and the President also suggested that space can be another area of mutually beneficial cooperation.
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Turkmenistan's proposal to send a youth delegation to India within the ambit of India-Central Asia cultural cooperation was also welcomed by President Kovind.
"The MoU on Youth Affairs signed today would further intensify exchanges between our youth," he said.