Turkmen president hails Turkish businesspeople as major contributors to Turkmen progress

ISTANBUL (A.A) - March 1, 2012 - Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow has praised Turkish businesspeople operating in his country, saying that they had played a crucial role in Turkmenistan's economic and social progress. "Turkish businesspeople had made great contributions to Turkmenistan's surefooted progress in economic and social areas and they had carried out many great projects," Berdimuhamedow told a Turkish-Turkmen business forum meeting in Istanbul.  Berdimuhamedow said more than 600 Turkish companies currently ran business in his country, adding that the Turkish companies had signed 1,299 projects worth of 16.1 billion USD as of January this year in areas such as industry, construction, commerce and transportation. The Turkmen president described Turkey as "one of the biggest and the most respected trade partners" of his country, saying that trade volume between the two countries exceeded 3.6 billion USD in 2011.