AKIPRESS.COM - Turkmenistan sees Malaysia as a “country of priority” when it comes to trade as its firms have proven themselves to be reliable and observed good governance, The Star reported referring to the official visit of Prime Minister of Malaysia Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak to Turkmenistan.

The Prime Minister said much of the credit went to Petronas, which made its entry in 1996 as the pioneer of Malaysian companies in Turkmenistan.

He added President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hoped to have more dealings and trade with Malaysian companies due to the nation’s good track record.

Najib said that he was delighted with his two-day official visit there, his second since 2011, saying that it had been fruitful and very encouraging.

“They see Petronas as a partner which understands their aspirations and their President wants to see more investments from Malaysia,” said Najib, adding that the training provided by Petronas to locals in the oil and gas sector would be vital and strategic in the coming years.

Petronas had so far invested $8 billion in Turkmenistan and hoped to pump in more money in line with the wishes of the two leaders for increased trade and investments between the two nations.

Malaysian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Norman Muhamad said that Turkmenistan provided unlimited opportunities for Malaysian firms, noting that the country was midway into its five-year Economic Plan (started in 2012) which saw $70 billion allocated for upgrading the economy, education and construction.