Zarif: Iran Ready for Joint Caspian Projects with Turkmenistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced the country’s readiness to implement joint projects with neighboring Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea.
In a Sunday meeting with Turkmen Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev in Tehran, Zarif highlighted the great importance that Iran attaches to bilateral ties with Turkmenistan, which he described as one of the closest countries to Iran.
“We always seek enhanced relations and cooperation with Turkmenistan in various fields, and hope that we would be able to tap into all the capacities available for promotion of friendship and brotherhood between the two neighbors,” the Foreign Ministry’s website quoted Zarif as saying.
He also pointed to the previous bilateral agreements on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, and expressed Iran’s preparedness to work on joint projects with Turkmenistan in world’s largest inland body of water.
No issue should influence friendships between the two countries, Zarif underlined, expressing hope that the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Committee would hold a session in the near future.
The Turkmen diplomat, for his part, highlighted the significance of ties and cooperation with Iran, referring to the “constructive” talks he held with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi in Tehran earlier in the day.
“We are trying to prepare the ground for expansion and deepening of cooperation and bilateral relations and friendship with Iran by removing certain obstacles,” Hajiyev said.
In recent years, Iran and Turkmenistan have accelerated efforts to forge closer partnership in various political and economic fields.
In March 2018, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made an official visit to Ashgabat at the invitation of his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
During the trip, the two sides signed a number of agreements to enhance the bilateral ties in diverse areas.