Turkmen president urges Caspian region countries, int'l organizations to pursue Caspian ecosystem research

ASHGABAT. Aug 12 (Interfax) - Turkmenistan urges the Caspian region countries and international organizations to continue joint research to preserve the abundant ecological system and biological diversity of the Caspian Sea, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said in an address to the participants of the Caspian Sea: Partnership for Sustainable Development scientific conference.

"Turkmenistan is consistently making efforts to turn the Caspian Sea into a sea of peace, trust and friendship. Our country is committed to stepping up close contacts between the Caspian littoral states in energy, transportation and logistics, [and in] industry and trade," Berdimuhamedov said in an address published in the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.

Protecting the marine environment and maintaining environmental wellbeing are urgent areas of interaction between the Caspian littoral states, Berdimuhamedov said. "Turkmenistan urges the countries of the region and interested international organizations to pursue joint research to preserve the rich ecosystem and biological diversity of the Caspian Sea," Berdimuhamedov said in his address.

Ashgabat has put forward the Caspian Environmental Initiative, which "will provide an opportunity for substantive and professional interaction on a wide range of matters in the Caspian region," he said. "Its implementation, we are convinced, will make it possible to consolidate efforts to maintain environmental wellbeing and significantly coordinate targeted measures in the future," Berdimuhamedov said.

The conference opened in Ashgabat on Monday.