President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov spoke at the international forum on northern economic cooperation, which was held today in Seoul in the format of a video conference.

The heads of state, prominent politicians, representatives of academic circles, heads of ministries and departments of the trade and economic bloc, health, education, communications and high technologies, representatives of non-governmental organizations and the private sector of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia took part in the forum in a remote mode. Republic of Korea and several other countries.

During his video address to the forum participants, the President of Turkmenistan noted that he considers the current event as an important international platform for discussing and developing strategic vectors of economic cooperation in Eurasia, as well as a successful continuation of mutually beneficial economic partnership with the Republic of Korea in a bilateral and multilateral format.

The head of the Turkmen state shared his vision of combating the pandemic and minimizing negative socio-economic and humanitarian consequences, noting that the world community was unable to effectively counteract it in a timely manner. In his opinion, the unification of the intellectual, material, financial and other resources of all states of the world is the only way to successfully overcome this crisis.

“We are aware of the need to completely depoliticize the problem of coronavirus and eliminate the practice of using it in interstate relations as an instrument of influence” Berdimuhamedov said.

The President of Turkmenistan again proposed, under the auspices of the World Health Organization, to begin a comprehensive study of the etiology of coronavirus, as well as to conduct targeted work in the field of therapy and prevention of diseases caused by coronavirus infection.

During his speech, the President of Turkmenistan emphasized the importance of diversifying cooperation at the regional and international levels. He noted that Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea have great potential for cooperation, as an example, but named such areas as health care, "green" development, food security and other areas.

Among the main topics discussed at the forum were the changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the further advancement of northern economic cooperation. In this context, it is important to note that Turkmenistan stands for constructive international cooperation and calls for the use of scientific diplomacy mechanisms to strengthen cooperation in the field of health care and scientific research between the countries of the world.