TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov on Tuesday stressed the importance of promoting bilateral relations.

In a telephone conversation, the two presidents discussed avenues for bolstering of mutual relations particularly in energy sector as well as key regional and international developments.

"Iran and Turkmenistan, thanks to good bilateral ties and their position in the region, can serve common interests of the two countries in a way that will be beneficial to all regional nations by holding further consultations," Ahmadinejad said.

Niyazov invited Ahmadinejad to pay an official visit to Turkmenistan and said the visit would open new chapters in ties between Tehran and Ashkhabad.

The Iranian president expressed hope he would visit Turkmenistan in the near future.