Iran congratulates new Turkmen president on election win

Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi congratulated Serdar Berdimuhamedow on his election as the new president of Turkmenistan, hoping for the promotion of bilateral, regional and international cooperation between Tehran and Ashgabat.

According to Tasnim news agency, in a message on Tuesday, President Raeisi offered his warm congratulations to Berdimuhamedow and the Turkmen nation on the election of the new president.

He also expressed hope that the bilateral, regional and international interaction between Iran and Turkmenistan during the new Turkmen president’s tenure would continue to grow.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s priority is the expansion of relations with neighboring states, and Turkmenistan has a special place therein,” Raisi noted.

Turkmenistan authorities have said that the son of the Central Asian country’s leader won the presidential election after an unusual vote-counting delay.

Serdar Berdimuhamedow, 40, secured 72.97 percent of votes in Saturday’s election to lead the gas-rich country and succeed his father Gurbanguly, the Central Election Commission said on Tuesday.

His nearest rival in a field of nine candidates was university official Khyrdyr Nunnayev, who won 11 percent.

Turkmenistan became independent with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

ME