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20 January 2014 - 22:03

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meradow, in a meeting in Ashgabat on Monday, underlined the need for the further expansion of the bilateral relations between the two neighboring states.

During the meeting in the Turkmen capital today, the Iranian and Turkmen foreign ministers explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating bilateral ties.

Zarif pointed to the current level of Iran-Turkmenistan mutual cooperation, and said, “Iran does not consider a ceiling for its bilateral ties with Turkmenistan."

"The two countries enjoy borders of friendship,” he added.

The Iranian foreign minister pointed to his ongoing visit to Turkmenistan, and said, “The visit by the high-ranking Iranian delegation to Ashgabat shows how important the relations with Turkmenistan are for Iran.”

The Turkmen foreign minister, for his part, said President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow has always underlined that the friendly relations between Tehran and Ashgabat should further expand and the two countries’ foreign ministries are in charge of that.

Meradow reiterated that Turkmenistan attaches special importance to the broadening of its relations with Iran, and said, “We see Iran’s success as the success of our own, and vice versa.”

Upon his arrival at Ashgabat International Airport on Monday morning, the Iranian foreign minister told reporters that he is in Turkmenistan to take part in the two countries' Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting.

Zarif underlined that the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting provides a good opportunity for broadening the bilateral relations, and said, “The type of our relations with Turkmenistan necessitates extensive cooperation in different economic fields.”

The Iranian foreign minister said President Hassan Rouhani would soon visit Ashgabat at the invitation of his Turkmen counterpart.

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

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

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