ANKARA, June 03. /ITAR-TASS/. Energy cooperation between Turkey and Turkmenistan has strategic character, President of Turkey Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday after talks with his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

“We uphold our position on issues of the transportation of Turkmen gas to European market via Turkey,” he said. “Our cooperation in the areas of energy and transport has strategic character. Today we spoke about what can be done to encourage closer economic and trade cooperation.”

According to the Turkish president, Turkish companies’ construction projects in Turkmenistan exceeded $40 billion in May. “As of now, our trade turnover stands at $2.5 billion. As many as 600 Turkish companies are active in Turkmenistan,” he said.

The Turkmen president also noted that that trade between the two countries had been annually growing by 38% “Our relations with Turkey in the areas of economy and trade are ascending to a qualitatively new level,” Berdymukhamedov said.

The talks between the Turkish and Turkmen presidents resulted in the signing of a number of protocols on cooperation in the areas of business, science and technology, and tourism.

Berdymukhamedov arrived in Turkey to take part in a meeting of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) due to be held in Bodrum on June 4-5.