ASHKHABAD – During President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s stay in Ashkhabad, Iran and Turkmenistan signed four cooperation agreements in trade, cultural, and energy fields on Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki signed two agreements with Turkmenistan’s ministers of commerce and culture on commercial cooperation and radio and TV cooperation.
Two other agreements were made by Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Rasul Zargar and Turkmen energy minister for a joint use of the Friendship Dam and building a meander dam at Shirtappeh.
President of Turkmenistan Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Ahmadinejad also issued a joint statement.
In a press conference with his Turkmen counterpart, Ahmadinejad said he had asked Berdymukhamedov to propose ways for improving cooperation between the two countries so that they can discuss the proposals in his future trip to Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic has always supported the domestic and international policies of Turkmenistan, and will continue to do so,” he stated.
Ahmadinejad stated that the Caspian Sea should remain the sea of peace and friendship joining borders of Iran and Turkmenistan together, IRNA reported.
Referring to Iran-Turkmenistan ties as ""cordial,"" the visiting president said the two capitals enjoyed common view on regional developments including the status of the Caspian Sea.
Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan are the Caspian Sea littoral states.
The Iranian president also invited President Berdymukhamedov to attend an upcoming summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states to be held in Tehran in the future.
Noting that Tehran-Ashkhabad enjoyed ""satisfactory"" cooperation in political and security fields, President Ahmadinejad stressed that their bilateral cooperation would serve independence of both countries.
He also said that the two states had ""good cooperation in the fields of energy, transportation, and electricity.""
According to the Iranian president issues like drugs smuggling were common ""dangerous threats"" posed against Iran and Turkmenistan.
Meanwhile, the Turkmen president referred to Tehran-Ashkhabad relations as ""useful and cordial,"" and ties which are based on mutual respect.
""Iran was among first countries that recognized Turkmenistan's independence and supported our policy of neutrality,"" said the president of Turkmenistan.
He added that Tehran and Ashkhabad enjoyed common views on major international and regional developments and their views over the status of the Caspian Sea are ""very close together"".
Berdymukhamedov expressed hope that relations between Iran and Turkmenistan would improve in the future.
The Iranian president, who is on a tour of three Central Asian countries, has already visited Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The president left Turkmenistan for Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit meeting in Bishkek.