Moscow is ready to increase energy cooperation with Turkmenistan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov on Friday.
"Energy is the key element of our cooperation and we are ready to develop it in further areas, including electric energy," Medvedev said during a two-day visit to the Turkmen town of Turkmenbashi.
Berdymukhammedov said that Turkmenistan was ready to sell more gas to Russia.
"Russia is an old partner of ours in the energy sector, which is why we are ready to boost exports of Turkmen natural gas to the Russian Federation under existing bilateral agreements," he said.
Berdymukhammedov said that the volume of trade turnover between the two countries for the first eight months of 2010 amounted to $1.857 billion, decreasing year-on-year due to a decrease in natural gas supplies to Russia. He said, however, that trade had recently become more diversified.
"I believe that energy efficiency and new technologies are extremely important areas of our future cooperation," Medvedev said. "We have agreed to hold a forum devoted to innovation and new technologies."
Berdymukhammedov said the forum will take place in the Turkmen capital of Ashkhabad next year.
TURKMENBASHI, Oct 22 (RIA Novosti)
