Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met here Friday and discussed matters of bilateral interests.

The two sides discussed matters related to Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and re-establishing of air links between their countries, a statement from the PM House said.

Nawaz said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would usher in a new era of prosperity in Pakistan and in the entire region. He said the future of the region's population was linked with CPEC and added that Pakistan would welcome if any country was interested in joining this mega project.

Nawaz said TAPI was a significant project which would help in meeting the energy needs of its member countries. He said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkmenistan were getting stronger with each passing day and proposed holding of a high level meeting every year in Islamabad and Ashgabat.

Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly seconded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the importance of CPEC, terming it a project that would guarantee the region's progress and prosperity. He lauded the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in taking solid steps for strengthening Pakistan's economy and ensuring uplift of the people.

The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. Earlier, the prime minister arrived here in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat to lead the country's delegation at the first-ever Global Conference on Sustainable Transport.

The prime minister is accompanied by his Adviser on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqi and Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi. The prime minister is undertaking the visit at the invitation of the president of Turkmenistan, who is co-hosting the conference along with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

The conference, likely to be attended by around 1,500 participants including heads of state and government, ministers, civil society leaders and the UN officials, will discuss promotion and the role of sustainable transport towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. "Pakistan is keen to improve connectivity with Central Asian States by establishing transport and communication links.

These will be conducive to tapping the potential of trade, economic interaction, people-to-people contacts and tourism," an earlier statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. The statement said Pakistan and China had launched China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to provide seamless connectivity to Gwadar and Karachi ports. -APP