Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday reaffirmed the significance of longstanding, historic and cultural ties between Pakistan and Turkmenistan.

He also underlined that there was a need to enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in the domains of trade, energy and connectivity. The prime minister expressed his views during a meeting with Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Movlamov who paid a courtesy call to him at the Prime Minster House.

During the meeting, cooperation on regional initiatives was also highlighted. In this regard, the prime minister stressed that high level exchanges between the two countries needed to be enhanced. The importance of regular meetings of the bilateral institutional mechanisms was also impressed upon by the prime minister.

The ambassador conveyed the felicitations of the Turkmen leadership to the prime minster on his re-election. The prime minister thanked Turkmen President Serdar Berdimohamedov as well as National Leader of the Turkmen People Gurbanguly Berdimohamedov for their congratulatory messages.

He fondly recalled his meetings with them and said he looked forward to continuing these exchanges in the future. The Turkmen ambassador briefed the prime minister on the various ongoing bilateral activities.

The ambassador, who is also the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Islamabad, expressed his gratitude for the cooperation and support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government departments in the discharge of his functions.