A delegation from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, led by Erkin Tuniyaz, Deputy Secretary of the region’s Communist Party of China Committee and Chairman of the XUAR People’s Government, has arrived in Turkmenistan on a visit. This was reported by the news website Turkmenportal.

The programme for the visit includes negotiations on expanding trade and economic cooperation and implementing joint projects in the fields of agriculture, science, education and technology.

As part of the visit, the delegation visited the International Science and Technology Park of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, where they familiarised themselves with the work of specialist laboratories and the research carried out by Turkmen scientists in the fields of physical, chemical, biological, genetic and technical research.

The delegation also met with the leadership of the Ashgabat City Administration, where they discussed the expansion of mutually beneficial partnerships.

In the afternoon, negotiations were held with representatives of Turkmenistan’s agricultural sector — the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the State Concern ‘Türkmenpagta’ — as well as with the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers responsible for the agricultural sector. The parties discussed the current state and prospects of trade, economic and agricultural cooperation. The Turkmen side emphasised the priority of attracting investment, introducing innovations and foreign expertise to modernise the agricultural sector, as well as developing transport and logistics services and organising joint business forums and exhibitions. Representatives of the XUAR supported these proposals and put forward counter-initiatives.

Separately, the parties discussed cultural and humanitarian cooperation — student and academic exchanges, the organisation of internships for young researchers, as well as cooperation in the field of environmental protection and water-saving technologies in the agricultural sector. Given the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s experience in the rational use of land and water resources and the fight against desertification, the Turkmen side expressed its readiness to engage in joint research programmes.

Following the negotiations, the parties expressed their confidence that the visit would give impetus to the development of Turkmen-Chinese relations. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region delegation’s visit is continuing.