Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and head of Israeli company Merhav Josef Maiman have agreed on approaches to establishing a new expanded format of partnership. As the Ashgabat correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru reports, the meeting between the President of Turkmenistan and Merhav chief executives was held in the Turkmen capital on June 26.

Josef Maiman presented a number of projects in the oil and gas sector, chemical industry, agriculture, education and healthcare. The projects include the construction of a natural gas refinery with the capacity of 4 bln cubic meters of gas a year. Gas would be supplied from Garabil and Gurrukbil fields. The company also proposed a project on associated gas processing.

The list of projects also includes the construction of a modern potash fertilizer plant in Garlyk. The plant would provide jobs to 500 people. Its production would serve the domestic market needs and would also be exported.

The Israeli partners also offered to supply modern cotton growing technologies that would make it possible to significantly increase yields of technical crops, and a project on the construction of greenhouses for growing of vegetables year-round. Taking into account that yields in greenhouses are three fold higher than in the open ground, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov requested Merhav specialists to look into the issue of growing a wider range of vegetables and citrus plants.

As part of cooperation in agriculture the Israeli company presented a pilot project on the construction of a modern dairy farm for 500 cows. Bearing in mind the possibility of achieving greater milk yields, similar farms can be built in each province of Turkmenistan. They would produce quality dairy products such as pasteurized milk, kefir, mild cheese and brynza.

The sides paid particular attention to establishing partnership in the social sphere, in particular in education and healthcare. Josef Maiman offered the company's services in opening vocational schools, laboratories, multifunctional centers as well as introduction of special programmes developed for secondary and primary schools in each province of Turkmenistan. The chief executives of Merhav presented their innovations allowing for extending medical assistance to children until adolescence.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, in turn, suggested that the company come up with projects on exploration of the rich natural resources of the western region of Turkmenistan, in particular Garabogazgol bay, which contains the entire periodic table, and mineral fields in Gyzylkaya.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that Turkmenistan views Merhav as a reliable and time-tested partner. He said that all projects presented at the meeting should be discussed in greater details at the talks in relevant departments, immediately in the course of the current visit to Ashgabat by Merhav chief executives.