Prime Minister to visit Turkmenistan on Friday

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Turkmenistan for two days from tomorrow at the invitation of the President of Turkmenistan.

The Prime Minister will lead a delegation to the first ever Global Conference on Sustainable Transport being held at Ashgabat under the auspices of the United Nations.

The conference is co-hosted by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Turkmenistan and is likely to be attended by around 1500 participants, including Heads of State, Government, Ministers, private sector CEOs, civil society leaders and UN officials.

The Conference will discuss promotion and role of sustainable transport towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meeting with the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and exchange views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

This will provide a valuable opportunity to review the decisions taken during two visits of the Prime Minister to Turkmenistan in 2015 and the Turkmen President’s visit to Pakistan in March 2016.

Pakistan is keen to improve connectivity with Central Asian States by establishing transport and communication links, which will be conducive to tap the potential of trade, economic interaction, people-to-people contacts and tourism.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor wille provide seamless connectivity to Ports at Gwadar and Karachi, and the rail and road transport corridors can be utilised by land-locked Central Asian countries to have access to Pakistan’s seaports.