Ahmadinejad backs closer Turkmen ties

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the expansion of mutual ties with Turkmenistan after the inauguration of a joint gas pipeline project.

The Iranian president and his Turkmen counterpart Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov opened the second phase of the 1.2-billion-dollar pipeline transferring Turkmenistan’s gas into Iran.

Addressing an opening ceremony at the border southeastern Iranian city of Sarakhs on Sunday, Ahmadinejad said that the Islamic Republic is ready to cooperate in all fields with its neighbor Turkmenistan.

“There is no limit in cooperating with Turkmenistan,” he said, calling for joint investment with Ashgabat in energy projects.

He also praised the speedy implementation of the pipeline and efforts made by his Turkmen counterpart in this regard.

Ahmadinejad went on to say that the two countries are working together to set up a joint railway which will provide the shortest path to Central Asia and Persian Gulf countries by connecting Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

He added that Iran and Turkmenistan regularly consult with each other about regional and international issues to make right decisions.

“We have similar opinions regarding many international issues,” he said.

“We consider the independence, dignity and development of Turkmenistan as Iran’s own independence, dignity and development,” the Iranian president stressed.

The new 48-inch diameter pipeline has the capacity to transfer 18 million cubic meters of gas per day.

The first phase of the 1024-km-pipeline came on stream in January 2010 to deliver gas from the Turkmenistan’s Dovletabad field to Iran’s Khangiran refinery.

The new pipeline will eventually more than double Turkmenistan’s annual gas exports to Iran to 20 billion cubic meters.

Iran sits on the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia, and has long sought to promote itself as a transit route for oil and gas from Central Asian states.

Turkmenistan, Central Asia’s biggest gas producer, is also seen as one of the key suppliers for the planned Nabucco pipeline from Turkey to Austria, designed to ease Europe’s dependence on Russia for gas supplies.