Turkmenistan to further increase bilateral ties with Iran

Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow underlined his country's willingness to increase bilateral ties and mutual cooperation with Iran. The expansion of cooperation with Iran is the first priority of Turkmenistan's foreign policy, Berdimuhamedow said in a message to the opening ceremony of Iran's sixth exclusive trade fair in Ashgabat on Tuesday. He called for further broadening of mutual economic and trade cooperation and said holding of such trade fairs by Iran is a symbol of friendly relations between the two brotherly countries. On Saturday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had underscored Iranian and Turkmen officials' resolve to further strengthen and deepen the ties between the two neighboring countries. The issue was raised in a telephone conversation with his Turkmen counterpart. He expressed the hope that Tehran-Ashgabat cooperation would witness a significant boost in all areas in the near future. He then congratulated Berdimuhammadov on his re-election as President of Turkmenistan as well as the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Iran has initiated massive diplomatic steps to expand its ties with the neighboring and the Central Asian states. President Ahmadinejad's administration has in recent years paid special attention to Tehran's economic, cultural and political cooperation with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.