President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Vagit Alekperov, the head of the Russian energy company Lukoil, discussed the development of hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian region during a meeting in Ashgabat on Monday.
Alekperov reaffirmed his company’s interest in expanding mutually beneficial partnership with Turkmenistan, the official Turkmen media reports.
The Head of State pointed out that Turkmenistan is always open for productive cooperation with foreign partners, including Russian ones. As one of the world's largest hydrocarbon producers, Turkmenistan has consistently advocates the development of effective international cooperation in the fuel and energy sphere, according to the Turkmen President.
The sides also exchanged views on current areas and prospects of bilateral partnership, outlining among its priority vectors the encouragement of investment activities, implementation together with foreign partners of major infrastructure projects and diversification of routes for supply of Turkmen energy resources to the world market.
Having familiarized President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the current activities of Lukoil in Turkmenistan and the proposals for promoting new joint projects in the Caspian Sea, Vagit Alekperov confirmed the intention of Russian partners to take an active part in large-scale industry programs in Turkmenistan.
The largest Russian non-state enterprise Lukoil was founded in 1991. The company has operations and subsidiaries in more than 30 countries.