Iran urges closer Tehran-Ashgabat ties

July 17th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

President Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov in Tehran on Monday.

The Iranian president said that Tehran and Ashgabat should boost their bilateral relations and urged the officials of both countries to do their best toward a further expansion of the ties in different areas.

Ahmadinejad described the Iran-Turkmenistan relations as a model for other countries in the region and expressed hope that the two countries would soon achieve their objectives set in earlier bilateral agreements.

Turkmenistan’s foreign minister, for his part, said his country has always favored stronger ties with the Islamic Republic, adding that Ashgabat has comprehensive plans to that end.

Meredov made a reference to the USD 5-billion level of annual economic transactions between Iran and Turkmenistan and said that under the agreements reached between the two counties’ officials and regarding the existing capacities, the bilateral trade could top USD 10 billion per annum.

The Turkmen foreign minister also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi at the 12th session of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Commission in Tehran, where they signed a memorandum of understanding to increase the level of trade and economic relations between the two countries.

“We will make our utmost effort to fulfill the wish of the two countries’ presidents to improve the volume of trade and economic ties to USD 10 billion within the next years,” Salehi told reporters on Monday.

Iran and Turkmenistan have had official diplomatic relations since Turkmenistan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Iran was the first country to recognize Turkmenistan as an independent nation.

Since then, the two countries have enjoyed good relations and have cooperated in the economic, infrastructure and energy sectors.

YH/GHN/HJL