The 14th Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Commission was held on July 25-27, co-chaired by Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi and Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov, in which the two officials discussed cooperation in various economic sectors.
At the meeting, Akhoundi referred to the “close economic and political ties” between the two countries and said 18 cooperation agreements were signed in President Hassan Rouhani’s last visit to Ashgabat. Based on the agreements, the value of bilateral annual trade is set to reach $60 billion by facilitating and developing railroad and land transit and expanding border markets, IRNA reported.
“The International North-South Transport Corridor on the east of the Caspian Sea can be further developed by the inauguration of Incheh Boruon Railway Station and connecting it to Bereket Station. Furthermore, the Sarakhs-Bandar Abbas Railroad link’s potential is still untapped and can be expanded,” the official added.
“Iranian companies are willing and able to cooperate in the fields of railway and maritime transportation, agriculture, power transmission and engineering,” he noted.
The Turkmen minister also pointed to the trade potential between the two countries and the significance of the joint economic commission and said that cooperation priorities were set in the fields of gas, oil, transportation and agriculture.
Meredov called for increased cooperation in developing Saraksh-Bandar Abbas railroad corridor. “Transportation costs have decreased significantly upon the establishment of Sarakhs-Bandar Abbas Railroad link, which Turkmenistan seeks to use to transport its goods to designated markets.”
Expanding technical cooperation in port and maritime operations, establishing a joint maritime and port committee and launching a direct shipping line between Iran and Turkmenistan were among other issues discussed in the commission.
