AKIPRESS.COM - President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain and President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov talked by the phone on Saturday, the Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said.

They agreed that both sides needed to make efforts to further enhance the economic relations through joint ventures in agriculture, textile, livestock and IT sectors. The two leaders acknowledged the importance of early implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

Berdimuhamedov said Turkmenistan had completed construction of the rail network up to the border of Afghanistan and expressed his desire to extend it to Pakistan. President Mamnoon Hussain appreciated and welcomed Turkmenistan's efforts aimed at enhancing connectivity between both the countries and the region.

The Turkmen president invited president of Pakistan to witness the ground breaking ceremony for the Afghanistan section of the TAPI gas pipeline project scheduled for February 2018 at the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border.  He also conveyed New Year greetings and expressed his gratitude to President Mamnoon Hussain for witnessing the inaugural ceremony of the V-Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in September in Ashgabat.

The president of Pakistan thanked his Turkmenistan counterpart for the warm message of felicitations and conveyed New Year greetings to the Turkmenistan president, as well as, the people of Turkmenistan.

President Mamnoon Hussain also conveyed his best wishes for the ‘Neutrality Day’ of Turkmenistan’, which was celebrated on December 12, Samaa TV reported.