The Head of the European Council Charles Michel received the credentials of the Ambassador of Turkmenistan

A ceremony was held in Brussels to present the credentials of the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the Kingdom of Belgium Sapar Palvanov as the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the European Union to the President of the European Council Charles Michel.

A bilateral meeting was held as part of the ceremony. The European politician noted the importance of contacts at the highest level and suggested organizing a meeting with the head of state in Brussels this year to discuss prospects for increasing cooperation.

Stressing the EU's respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Turkmenistan, Charles Michel expressed interest in further strengthening ties with the countries of the Central Asian region. In this context, the head of the European Council identified three main areas of the EU agenda for Central Asia: security, peace and socio-economic development.

Speaking about the latest trends in expanding cultural and humanitarian cooperation with Turkmenistan, the Chairman of the European Council welcomed the holding of the next round of the Turkmenistan-European Union Human Rights Dialogue in Ashgabat last November, as well as the recent visit to Turkmenistan of the EU Special Representatives for human rights and Central Asian countries and the negotiations held during it.

The Turkmen envoy, in turn, focused on the importance of neutrality in the country's foreign policy and spoke about Turkmenistan's reforms and progress in areas of interest to the EU. The focus was on such economic areas as trade, energy, transport projects, cooperation in the field of digital economy, as well as climate change.

In general, the parties expressed their readiness to increase cooperation and expand the Turkmenistan-EU dialogue.