SKOLKOVO /Moscow Region/, October 6. /TASS/. The Caspian region is very important for Russia, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin stressed at a plenary session of the 2nd Caspian Economic Forum on Thursday.
"For Russia, the Caspian has great significance. Above all, given its strategic location in the center of Eurasia, at a crossroads of transportation and energy arteries, as well as having a large amount of natural reserves and unique bioresources in its waters," the prime minister said.
According to him, the Caspian region is the intersection of cultures, civilizations and religions, a place where people of different nationalities and faiths have always treated each other with respect and kindness. "These traditions have been preserved to this day. We may have different interests yet we are capable of finding mutually beneficial solutions through dialogue," Mishustin emphasized.
He greeted the participants and guests of the forum, reiterating that it was created at Ashgabat’s initiative and was held for the first time three years ago in Turkmenistan. The head of the Russian government thanked his colleagues for supporting the idea of holding the current meeting in Moscow.
"The most important questions concerning our region are being discussed at the forum’s venues. With the participation of representatives of governments, regions, business circles and expert communities, proposals are being prepared to boost cooperation in many spheres - from energy and transport to investment and tourism," he concluded.
The Russian prime minister also reiterated that October 6 is the Day of Remembrance in Turkmenistan dedicated to those who perished in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. "Seventy-four years ago, one of last century’s most destructive catastrophes took the lives of tens of thousands of people. Homes and enterprises were damaged, almost the entire city was in ruins which became a real tragedy that left no one unaffected. Our entire large country responded to the pain of the Turkmen people. Both Russia and other Soviet republics took part in restoring the city," Mishustin said. He expressed condolences to the people of Turkmenistan and those who lost their loved ones in the earthquake.