On December 22, Presidents of Turkmenistan and Russia signed an agreement to expand the strategic cooperation in energy and engineering.

"Big Russian companies such as Gazprom, Stroytransgaz, Itera, Zarubezhneft, KAMAZ and others are successfully operating in Turkmenistan. It is in our interest to continue to encourage investments in industrial cooperation," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said after the meeting. He called the agreement "a step forward" that will make it possible to "specify the areas of joint work in several directions." "I believe that those decisions taken today will serve as a good basis for our energy cooperation in the near future," Dmitry Medvedev said.

In turn, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted the positive dynamics of trade turnover between the two countries. "It is significant that trade turnover, even without the gas component, has recently increased so much that today Russia holds the first place among foreign trade partners of Turkmenistan," the head of state said.

On the result of ten months of the year, trade turnover between the two countries, excluding gas supplies, amounted to US $ 900 million, approximately a 20 percent increase on the last year.

It should be recalled that as part of the Russian President''s visit to Ashgabat there was also signed a document between Turkmengaz state concern and Russia''s Gazprom Export on amending the contract on the sale of Turkmen natural gas.