ISTANBUL 

Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow thanked the UK for supporting his country’s initiatives within the UN General Assembly during a meeting with London’s top diplomat, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“The head of state thanked the British side for supporting the initiatives put forward by Turkmenistan within the UN General Assembly.

"In particular, gratitude was expressed for the support of the Resolution ‘2025 – International Year of Peace and Trust’ recently adopted at the initiative of Turkmenistan,” said a statement by the Turkmen Foreign Ministry following Berdimuhamedow's meeting with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron a day earlier.

Indicating that the meeting underlined Turkmenistan’s adherence to its policy of permanent neutrality, the statement said it further highlighted Ashgabat’s implementation of “broad international cooperation in order to ensure peace, security and sustainable development.”

“In this regard, Turkmenistan has put forward a number of international initiatives aimed at maintaining peace, trust and a culture of dialogue within large authoritative organizations, primarily the UN, which have received widespread support,” it further said.

The meeting also emphasized the regular sending of international humanitarian aid by Turkmenistan, according to the statement.

The statement went on to say that Berdimuhamedow and Cameron noted their satisfaction with regards to the dynamics of the development of bilateral trade turnover, and advised using the Turkmen-British Trade and Industry Council to further expand economic cooperation between London and Ashgabat.

“The oil and gas industry, agriculture and new technologies were identified as promising areas of interaction,” the statement said, adding that issues of climate change and its effects were also among the topics of discussion.

On Monday, Cameron embarked on a regional tour to Central Asia and Mongolia. He has so far visited Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan​,​ and Kazakhstan.