TEHRAN – Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi has met with the Special Envoy of the President of Turkmenistan Sardar Berdimuhamedow, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

The two Turkmen officials delivered a written message from the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, to Ayatollah Raisi.

Speaking on Sunday in a meeting with the Special Envoy of the President of Turkmenistan and the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Ra?it Meredow, Ayatollah Raisi stated that Tehran-Ashgabat relations are on the path to development, adding, “We are determined to take effective and useful steps in political, economic, cultural and social relations for the benefit of our nations.”

Ayatollah Raisi called the bilateral meeting with the President of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat and the telephone calls between the two sides the beginning of a new chapter in the development of relations between the two countries and said, “In these talks, proper decisions were made to remove the existing obstacles on the path of the development of cooperation, including in the field of transportation and energy, and the ground for expanding and deepening relations between the two countries has been facilitated.”

Ayatollah Raisi pointed out, “Tehran welcomes the proposals of the other side in the field of strengthening and promoting cooperation in various sectors, especially in the field of energy, trade and commerce, and there are no obstacles and restrictions in this regard.”

Expressing that Tehran attaches special importance to the development of relations with neighboring countries, the President said, “Iran and Turkmenistan are not just two neighboring countries, but also have kinship relations with each other and the two nations have deep-rooted and deep cultural and historical ties.”

In this meeting, the Special Envoy of the President of Turkmenistan presented the written message from Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and appreciated the Iranian government's efforts to expand and strengthen relations with Turkmenistan over the past few months, saying, "We are determined to increase the level of our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in various fields, especially in the field of gas, transportation, economy, trade and culture".

"Turkmenistan seeks to open a new historical page in relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and numerous proposals have been prepared to expand comprehensive cooperation, especially to increase and facilitate trade and transit at border terminals," said Sardar Berdimuhamedow.

Relations between Tehran and Ashgabat have been growing in recent months. Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi met with Deputy Chairman of Turkmenistan’s Cabinet of Ministers Serdar Berdymukhamedov in Tehran on Saturday to exchange views and discuss mutual cooperation in various transportation sectors.

Speaking in this meeting, Qasemi mentioned the agreements reached between the two sides during the two countries’ Joint Economic Committee meeting, saying: “At the meeting of the Joint Committee, we reached agreements in the fields of transportation and transit between the two countries that had good results; In this regard, in the field of rail transport, we agreed on the daily exchange of 400 freight wagons at Sarakhs border.”

Qasemi stated that this agreement has made good progress, adding: “We can increase this exchange rate as well.”

The official informed Berdymukhamedov about some problems in the border terminals of Iran and Turkmenistan and suggested: “A joint team of Iranian and Turkmen railway experts can be formed to examine the existing obstacles in the way of realizing the daily exchange of 400 to 500 wagons, and to prepare a comprehensive report and resolve such problems.”

A gas swap deal between Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan has come into force as of the first day of the new year. The agreement on a natural gas swap deal for up to two billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas has taken effect as of January 1, 2022.