Iran-Turkmenistan To Raise Trade Exchange To $10bn In 5 Yrs.

Tehran, July 17, IRNA – Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari says Iran and Turkmenistan will raise the value of their trade exchange to $10 billion in a five-year time. Speaking at the 3rd Iran-Turkmenistan Trade Seminar here on Monday, Ghazanfari said the two countries’ trade exchange stood at $5 billion in 2011. He said Iranian companies are ready to export technical and engineering services in the fields of oil, gas and petrochemical industriess, house construction, food industries, medical equipment, building power plants, road building, water and sewage treatment, railway building, city and inter-city bus transportation, mining, tourism and establishment of free zones with Turkmenistan. Iran was the main trade partner of Turkmenistan in 2010. Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Turkmen Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow stressed that the cordial ties between Tehran and Ashgabat will never be affected by sanctions. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is the closest and best neighbor of Turkmenistan," Meredow said. "The relations between Ashgabat and Tehran will not be influenced by marginal issues, such as the sanctions," reiterated the minister. The 12th Joint Economic Commission of Iran and Turkmenistan started work in Tehran on Monday morning with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredev heading the two countries' delegations. The preliminary meeting of the commission was held in Tehran Saturday morning. The Joint Commission is seeking to increase the level of economic, cultural, educational and scientific relations and interactions between the two countries. Iran attaches great importance to its strategic ties with Turkmenistan due to the country's strategic position in Central Asia. In May, a delegation from the Iranian parliament headed by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, visited Turkmenistan. The high-ranking delegation held separate meetings with Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredev and Parliament Speaker Aqja Nourbardiva in Ashgabat. During the meetings, the two sides discussed different bilateral issues as well as the latest regional and international developments. In recent years Iran has made massive diplomatic efforts to expand its ties with the neighboring states, specially those in the Central Asia. To the same end, President Ahmadinejad's administration has paid special attention to expansion of Tehran's economic, cultural and political ties and cooperation with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in the last few years./end