President Ram Nath Kovind reaches Turkmenistan
President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Turkmenistan on Friday on a three-day state visit during which he will meet his Turkmenistan counterpart Serder Berdimuhamedov and discuss ways to boost bilateral ties with the resource-rich Central Asian country.
This is the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent Turkmenistan and comes just after the inauguration of the new Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov.
“President Kovind arrived in Ashgabat on the first part of his two-nation visit. As per the Turkmen tradition, the President was offered bread and salt by children at the airport,” the President’s official Twitter account tweeted.
“The state visit of the president will reaffirm the importance we attach to Turkmenistan, not only bilaterally but also in terms of our extended neighbourhood concept and role in India-Central Asia partnership,” Sanjay Verma, Secretary West in the MEA, told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.