Erdogan In Turkmenistan For First Time As Turkish President

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, for a two-day visit.

Erdogan, who arrived on November 6, is making his first visit to a Central Asian country since becoming president in August.

Before meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, on November 7, Erdogan told reporters that "the already-close ties between Turkey and Turkmenistan will continue to flourish."

Erdogan cited bilateral cooperation between the two Turkic-speaking countries in trade, culture, tourism, and construction.

Berdymukhammedov said "Turkey and Turkmenistan have common stances for establishing global peace and prosperity."

Turkmenistan, which has ample amounts of natural gas, considers Turkey a potential transit state to deliver gas to the European market.

Before becoming president, Erdogan was prime minister for 11 years.

Based on reporting by Anadolu Agency and turkmenportal.com