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By Aynur Karimova

A wide range of issues covering various areas of bilateral cooperation between Tehran and Ashgabat was high on the agenda of the 14th session of the joint commission of Iran and Turkmenistan.

The session was attended by a Turkmen delegation, led by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Rashid Meredov, the Turkmen government said on July 30.

As part of Meredov's working visit to Iran, he met with Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, who co-chairs the Iranian part of the joint intergovernmental Turkmen-Iranian trade and economic cooperation commission.

The trade-economic and transportation-communications sectors, agriculture, water management, customs issues, cooperation between the two countries’ regions, communications, and information technologies were set as the main issues in the agenda.

Following the meeting, the sides signed a final protocol. Moreover, they signed a protocol on constructing a new road bridge on Serakhs-Sarakhs (Turkmenistan-Iran) checkpoint.

Turkmenistan’s delegation also held a meeting with Iran's Petroleum Minister of Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the current state and prospects for relations between the two countries and considered the possibility of expanding bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

Moreover, Meredov met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh.

Turkmenistan is the largest supplier of natural gas to Iran. The most convenient transportation route for Turkmen resources to the energy markets of the region passes through Iran.

Turkmenistan was the seventh leading importer of Iranian non-oil goods in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2015, according to the Iran Customs Administration.

Iran exported $973.65 million of non-oil goods to Turkmenistan and imported $113.72 million of non-oil goods from the country.

In March, the two countries signed 17 cooperation documents in economic, cultural, political, legal, scientific, and technological fields. The two sides are determined to boost their bilateral trade to $60 billion by the next 10 years.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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