Azernews.Az

Turkmenistan and China discussed the prospects of new joint projects in the oil and gas sector, a state report by the Turkmen government said on August 28.

The report noted that these issues were discussed during the meeting of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat with Vice-Premier of the State Council of China Zhang Gaoli.

Vice Premier Wu Yi said that the state visit of the Turkmen president to China this May gave new momentum to the inter-governmental dialogue.

According to the results of this visit, some bilateral documents were signed, which became the starting point for the preparation of new joint projects in various fields, especially in oil and gas sector, important to the economies of the two countries.

During the meeting, Gaoli also noted the exceptional appeal of the Turkmen market for China due to the creation of a congenial investment climate in the country and the state support for foreign business, the report said.

China's CNPC has been bringing gas into Central Asia since 2009. Purchases began after the launch of the first two branches of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan pipeline (A and B). The third branch (C) of the pipeline along the same route was put into operation in June this year.

An agreement was signed between China and Turkmenistan to increase gas supply up to 65 billion cubic meters in 2020. The fourth branch (D) of the pipeline through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is being built for that purpose.