Turkmen president due in Italy

By Trend

Italy is looking forward to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov’s upcoming visit, Trend reports referring to Italian President Sergio Mattarella's letter sent to the Turkmen counterpart on the occasion of Turkmenistan’s Independence Day which is celebrated on September 27.

“I am confident that the upcoming visit of the Turkmen president will be an important moment for further strengthening the friendship between our peoples and the relations linking Ashgabat and Rome at the political, economic and cultural levels,” the letter said. “In the spirit of friendship and in anticipation of meeting with the Turkmen president in the Quirinal Palace, I once again express warm wishes of well-being to you and your country."

According to the Turkmen State Statistics Committee, in the total export volume by country, the biggest increase was observed in Italy - more than ten times in January 2019 compared to January 2018.

The foreign trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Italy in recent years has reached about $1.5 billion annually with a significant predominance of Turkmenistan’s export.

The two countries consider the fuel and energy sector, trade, the transport and communications complex and agriculture as the two vectors of intensifying the cooperation.

In November 2014, Eni extended the term of its activity in Turkmenistan within the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for ten years.

The matter rests in a contract territory of more than 1,000 square kilometers in the Balkan region of the country.

The company has also recently shown interest in exploring offshore blocks 19 and 20 in the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea with reserves of more than 500 million tons of oil and 630 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Earlier, during the negotiations with Turkmenistan, the Eni leadership voiced its desire in the long term to render assistance in supplying the Turkmen gas to the world markets.