Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 11
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Iran and Turkmenistan signed 17 MoUs on economic, cultural, political, legal, scientific, and technical cooperation.
At the end of meetings between high-ranking officials from the two countries, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow signed the documents in Ashgabat on March 11, the Iranian presidential website reported.
Based on the agreements, the two countries' foreign ministries will start a five-year cooperation project.
Also, the two countries agreed to mutually transfer prisoners.
Cooperation in environmental, cultural, artistic, scientific and educational sectors for four years was also agreed to.
The two countries will also join efforts in fighting money laundering as well as in a number of civil projects, including the construction of the Khatun (Sarakhs) Bridge, expanding roads, as well as the generation and transfer of electricity.
Mutual trade in chemical and agricultural products, rail transportation, cooperation by the two countries' chambers of commerce, border provinces cooperation, and joint work on historical manuscripts were also among the items the sides agreed to.
Iran and Turkmenistan are determined to bring the level of their annual trade turnover to $60 billion within ten years.
The Islamic Republic exports machinery, construction materials, sedans, buses, foodstuff, agricultural and petrochemical products, electrical products and home appliances to Turkmenistan, and imports natural gas, electricity, textiles and agricultural products from its northern neighbor.
Iran, Turkmenistan non-oil trade turnover stood at $1.112 billion in 2014. The Islamic Republic exported $933 billion worth of non-oil goods to Turkmenistan, meanwhile imported about $179 million worth of goods from Ashgabat in the same period, according to Iran's Customs Administration.
Edited by CN