Iran, Turkmenistan sign MoU to increase trade, economic ties

Foreign ministers of Iran and Turkmenistan have signed a memorandum of understanding to increase the level of trade and economic relations between the two countries.

The MoU was signed by Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov at the end of the 12th session of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Commission in Tehran on Monday.

“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.

He added that the value of exchanges between Tehran and Ashgabat has reached five billion dollars thanks to the firm determination of the Iranian and Turkmen presidents.

The Iranian minister said during the two-day session, five committees discussed issues including energy, transportation and trade as well as economic, cultural and scientific cooperation.

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.

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