SOUTH KOREA-TURKMENISTAN SUMMIT

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in who is on a tour of three Central Asian countries held summit talks in Turkmenistan. The two sides confirmed they are ideal mutual partners for cooperation. The two nations agreed to step up cooperation in energy and transportation infrastructure and also begin ties in the digital and cultural fields.

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President Moon became the second South Korean leader to visit the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Following an honor guard parade and an official welcome ceremony, the leaders of the two countries held a summit. Turkmenistan owns the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world but the nation lacks infrastructure. The two sides agreed that cooperation in transportation infrastructure and the energy sector would be mutually beneficial.

[Soundbite] PRES. MOON JAE-IN : "I hope more Korean firms can take part in energy plant projects pushed by the Turkmen government."

[Soundbite] GURBANGULY BERDIMUHAMEDOW(PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN) : "Korea boasts modern traffic infrastructure while our country is strategically located."

Korea and Turkmenistan will also expand existing cooperative ties to the fields of health and medicine and digital information communications technology, and also begin cultural exchanges. The King Sejong Institute will open in Turkmenistan to provide Korean language education. The South Korean leader also thanked Turkmenistan, a small-sized neutral power on the global stage, for supporting the Peninsula's peace process.

[Soundbite] GURBANGULY BERDIMUHAMEDOW(PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN) : "We have always supported and continue to support a peaceful resolution of Korean Peninsula issues through dialogue and consultation."

On April 18th, President Moon also visited the Kiyanly petrochemical plant which was built by a global consortium led by a South Korean firm.