Iran foreign minister to visit Turkmenistan

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is scheduled to visit Turkmenistan to attend a joint economic commission meeting between the two countries, an Iranian envoy says.

Iran’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan Mohammad Reza Hashemi Golpayegani said on Saturday that Zarif is due to visit Ashgabat in January.

Zarif will lead the Iranian delegation at the 13th session of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Commission, while Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov will head Turkmenistan’s team.

The 12th session of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Commission was held in Iran’s capital, Tehran, in July 2012, during which the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding.

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani visited Turkmenistan in September for an official three-day visit aimed at expanding the bilateral ties between Tehran and Ashgabat at the invitation of his Turkmen counterpart Akja Nurberdiyeva.

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

Iran is reportedly Turkmenistan’s second largest trade partner after Russia.