The National Leader of Turkmenistan and the Head of Halk Maslahaty, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov traveled to Iran on 28 August 2024. This is the first high-level visit of a foreign dignitary to Iran since the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov had a meeting with the Iranian president. Four documents were signed on conclusion of the meeting. Both the leaders addressed a press conference.
Later, Arkadag and the Iranian president were received by the spiritual leader of Iran, The Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei.
During the meeting the gas industry was named among the key vectors. In particular, Turkmen natural gas is supplied to Iran and through it to other countries under the SWAP scheme, the National Leader of the Turkmen people said, confirming Turkmenistan’s readiness to expand the scale of these works. Continuing with the topic, it was noted that in the near future, Turkmen natural gas will be exported to the Republic of Iraq under this scheme. Having emphasized that measures are being taken to increase the volume of “blue” fuel supplies to Iran to 40 billion cubic meters per year, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty proposed implementing a number of projects jointly with Iranian companies specializing in this area.
Another important area was named the electric power industry. As noted, our countries are currently productively cooperating in this area. A striking example of this is the export of Turkmen electricity to Iran via the Balkanabat-Gonbat and Shatlyk-Sarakhs routes. Along with this, preliminary work was noted with Iranian companies regarding the project of the Turkmen section of the Mary-Mashhad power transmission line.
The third key vector was the transport sector. In this context, the parties confirmed their readiness to intensify partnership in this area. Having expressed their intention to cooperate in the road construction sector, Hero-Arkadag emphasized that this concerns the construction of a highway from the Turkmen-Iranian border to the cities of Etrek and Gumdag in Turkmenistan. In this regard, it was noted that preliminary work is currently underway based on the relevant Memorandum on the implementation of this project.
Documents Signed
The signing ceremony for cooperation documents between Iran and Turkmenistan was held with the presence of President Pezeshkian and Berdimuhamedow, during which four documents were signed to enhance bilateral cooperation.
The documents signed at the ceremony included a cooperation plan for 2024 to 2026 between the Foreign Ministries of Iran and Turkmenistan that was signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov.
Also, a sisterhood agreement was signed between Iran’s Amirabad Port and Turkmenistan’s Turkmenbashi Port by Farzaneh Sadegh, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, and Mohammad Khan, CEO of the Turkmenistan Company.
Additionally, a document on enhancing natural gas collaboration was signed by Majid Chegini, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister, and the CEO of Turkmen Gas Company.
Officials from both countries have signed a joint action plan aimed at enhancing and expanding customs cooperation between the two countries from 2024 to 2026.