Croatia and Turkmenistan want to strengthen relations and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow's visit to Croatia is a big incentive to further cooperation, primarily in the economy, but in culture, sports and other fields as well, Croatian President Stjepan Mesić told the press in Zagreb on Friday.
Turkmenistan and Croatia are showing determination in the development of bilateral relations and will continue to actively cooperate, both bilaterally and internationally, said Berdimuhamedow.
The two presidents discussed the development of bilateral relations and current international issues, concluding that their positions coincided. Our positions are very close, said Mesic, while Berdimuhamedow said their views coincided in many international issues as well, which he added was another important factor in the two countries' cooperation on the international front.
Croatia's foreign policy does not exhaust itself with the European component and we are interested in developing friendly and mutually useful relations with every country in the world, including Turkmenistan, said President Mesić.
The two presidents signed a joint declaration on the priorities of bilateral cooperation. They also attended the signing of an agreement between the Croatian Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy and the Turkmen Foreign Ministry's Institute for International Relations.
The priorities of cooperation are tourism, infrastructure, energy and communications, Berdimuhamedow said, adding it had also been agreed to intensify cooperation in education, scientific research and culture. He called on Croatian partners to consider the possibility of participating in a large-scale project for the creation of Turkmenistan's tourism infrastructure, adding his country gave great benefits to those participating in the project.
President Mesić criticised the fact that no major headway had been made in creating the legal framework for the development of relations, saying both sides were responsible. He said the signing of agreements was a process that should always be worked on, not only on special occasions. 
During his stay in Croatia, Berdimuhamedow will also visit Dubrovnik and the Brijuni islands.