ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan.ru) – Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Ashgabat on a working visit. As the Turkmenistan.ru correspondent reports from Ashgabat, during the visit the President of Iran took part in celebrations on the occasion of the International Day of Nowruz.

In the talks, the sides noted the high level of bilateral relations, strengthening of business contacts and expansion of traditional cultural ties. The sides stressed that last year the trade turnover between the two countries reached US $3,713 bln. As of today, 150 companies with Iranian capital operate in Turkmenistan.

The examples of successful Turkmen-Iranian cooperation include major joint projects such as construction of gas pipelines Korpedje-Kurtkui, Artyk-Lyutfabad, Dovletabad-Sarahs-Hangeran to supply Turkmenistan’s natural gas to Iran, construction of transnational railway Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran. As Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted, this project is very promising and the Turkmen-Kazakh section of the road will be completed and put into operation in the near future.

The sides also exchanged views on topical issues of regional and international policies of mutual interest.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thanked the Turkmen side for the willingness to expand trade, economic and cultural relations, and expressed “strong interest of Iran in intensifying bilateral cooperation in all key areas.”

In conclusion, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed their full commitment to the comprehensive interstate dialogue.