On 31 May 2025, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met with Chairman of the Senate of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, who arrived in Ashgabat on a visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan reported.
During the meeting, the sides discussed a wide range of issues of cooperation in the political, diplomatic, cultural, humanitarian, trade, economic, energy, transport and communication spheres.
The sides noted the constructive nature of the multifaceted Turkmen-Pakistani ties of proven times and stressed the current high level of interstate dialogue due to the political will of the leadership of the two countries.
The importance of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Pakistan within the framework of international structures and the importance of interparliamentary cooperation mechanisms was confirmed.
During the meeting, particular focus was placed on advancing key regional connectivity and energy initiatives, including the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (TAP) power transmission project, and the fiber optic connectivity corridor.
The Chairman of Pakistani Senate highlighted the transformative potential of these initiatives for regional integration, economic development, and energy security. He also encouraged Turkmenistan to consider utilizing Pakistan’s strategic seaports of Gwadar and Karachi to further boost regional trade and connectivity.
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On the same day, Gillani and his accompanying delegation met with Chairman of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan Dunyagozel Gulmanova.
During the meeting, the head of the Senate of Pakistan was informed about the main directions of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy based on the principles of positive neutrality, peacefulness, trust, equality and humanism, the composition of the national parliament, the ongoing work on legislative support for large-scale socio-economic reforms implemented in various fields.
During the meeting, the Turkmen side thanked Pakistan for supporting the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolutions on Turkmenistan’s initiative “2025 – International Year of Peace and Trust” and “Permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan”.
The parties noted that the Group of Friends of Neutrality, established on the initiative of Turkmenistan in the interests of peace, security and sustainable development, promotes the principles of neutrality in the framework of a multilateral dialogue, the development of sustainable political and diplomatic instruments to ensure universal peace, security and prosperity.
During the meeting, it was stressed that the inter-parliamentary dialogue has become an important part of expanding the scope of cooperation between the two countries, and the inter-parliamentary friendship groups established on a bilateral basis expand opportunities for sharing experience in legislative work.
In addition, the sides exchanged views on the current level of relations between the two countries in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
Gillani extended a formal invitation to the Chairperson of the Mejlis to undertake an official visit to Pakistan with a parliamentary friendship group, proposing the convening of joint parliamentary meetings and thematic seminars. He further suggested the negotiation and adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to institutionalize and facilitate parliamentary exchanges. The Chairperson graciously accepted the invitation and welcomed the proposal for a structured MoU.///nCa, June 2, 2025.