President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow at the Presidential Office today (the 15th).

At the meeting, President Lee said, "I deeply appreciate the special consideration you showed in allowing our citizens and their families staying in Iran to safely evacuate through Turkmenistan amid the urgent geopolitical situations in the Middle East last year and this year."

President Lee evaluated that "the warm helping hand extended during difficult moments truly demonstrated the deep trust and friendship between our two countries."

He continued, "Since establishing a mutually beneficial partnership in 2008, our two countries have steadily built a foundation for practical cooperation over a long period, and I hope we can now use this as a stepping stone to create tangible results that our people can experience in their daily lives."

President Berdimuhamedow responded, "We highly appreciate the Republic of Korea's continued support for various initiatives we have proposed on the international stage," adding, "Turkmenistan also supports South Korea's stance on major international issues."

In particular, mentioning President Lee's North Korea initiative, the END Initiative (Exchange, Normalization of relations, Denuclearization), he stated, "I reaffirm my support for this today."

During the subsequent closed-door meeting, the two leaders discussed ways to cooperate in the energy and plant sectors, according to a written briefing by Kang Yu-jung, Senior Presidential Spokesperson.

President Lee asked for President Berdimuhamedow's interest and support so that South Korean companies, based on their accumulated experience and technology, can continue to participate in large-scale plant and infrastructure projects in Turkmenistan.

The two leaders also shared a consensus that the "Revival of the Great Silk Road" vision—Turkmenistan's national logistics hub strategy as a country bordering the Caspian Sea and serving as a vital transport hub connecting East and West—will become a new growth engine linking Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.

In addition, they agreed to further expand mutually beneficial cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, such as jointly building ships locally in Turkmenistan, and to translate the potential for bilateral cooperation into concrete results in areas such as railways and new city construction.

(Photo: Yonhap News)