Top Iranian, Turkmen diplomats meet in Ashgabat

The foreign ministers of Iran and Turkmenistan discussed various bilateral and regional issues at a meeting in Ashgabat on Thursday.

According to Tasnim news agency, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who has visited Turkmenistan in a tour of Central Asia, held a meeting with his Turkmen counterpart Rasit Meredow on Thursday.

Expressing a positive view of the political, economic and cultural relations between Iran and Turkmenistan, Zarif called for closer cooperation between the two neighbors on various issues, such as environmental fields –including the Caspian Sea-, the transportation industry and transit routes, and innovative technologies.

Zarif also touched on bilateral cooperation in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and urged closer interaction in the Economic Cooperation Organization considering Turkmenistan’s rotating presidency of ECO as well as non-military activities in the Caspian Sea.

Meredow, for his part, stressed the importance of bilateral relations, pointed to the achievements of such ties in different fields, and underscored the need to materialize the available potential in order to expand all-out ties and hold the next round of the joint commission on economic cooperation.

The peace process in Afghanistan, cooperation in regional and international organizations and multilateral cooperation in the region were among other topics discussed by the two foreign ministers.

Zarif and Meredow also signed a cooperation document.

ME