On Thursday, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received the Foreign Minister of Iran Muhammad Javad Zarif, who arrived in Ashgabat at the head of a representative Iranian delegation, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports.

 During the meeting, that was held in a businesslike, constructive manner, the head of the state and his guest discussed key aspects of the Turkmen-Iranian interaction in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

 It was emphasized that, with colossal resource and economic potential, both neighboring states intend to continue to build up their traditional partnership, built on the principles of equality and mutual benefit across the entire spectrum of areas.

 As Muhammad Javad Zarif noted, Iran fully supported the peaceful foreign policy pursued by neutral Turkmenistan, that serves as a key factor in geopolitical balance, peace and stability in all of Central Asia, as well as the proactive approach of our country to solving pressing issues of our time.

 The guest stressed that Iranian business circles were showing great interest in expanding long-standing partnerships and establishing closer contacts with state and private structures of Turkmenistan.

 During the meeting, the need to intensify the activities of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, as well as holding bilateral meetings at various levels on a regular basis, were especially emphasized.

 Then, inter-ministerial consultations were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the website of the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan reports.

 A separate topic of discussion was the cooperation between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.  Interaction in regional and international structures, including the UN, ECO, OIC and others, was considered. The similarity of positions in maintaining regional security and stability was noted.  An exchange of views took place on the situation in Afghanistan.

 The Iranian side was invited to take part in the International Conference on Peace and Trust, scheduled to be held in Ashgabat on December 12 this year.                                                                                                                                                                               

 During the meeting, the Caspian issues were also discussed, including the analysis of existing legal documents and preparations for the Sixth Caspian Summit.  Mutual interest was expressed in the development of cooperation in this area.

 Following the talks, the foreign ministers of the two countries signed the Program of Cooperation between the Foreign Ministries of Turkmenistan and Iran for 2021-2022.