TEHRAN, Iran, June 15. Iran and Turkmenistan have agreed to establish a joint trade center to facilitate economic ties between the neighboring countries, Trend reports citing the official website of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran.
The agreement was made during a meeting between officials from the Iranian trade ministry including Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Seyyed Reza Fatemi-Amin and a high-ranking delegation from Turkmenistan headed by Batyr Atdaev, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers for Trade, Textile Industry, and Entrepreneurship.
According to the reports, both sides also agreed to draft a one-year roadmap for economic cooperation during the meeting held in Tehran.
“We have already established trade centers in 16 countries,” said Fatemi-Amin emphasizing that an operational plan is required to boost bilateral trade between Iran and Turkmenistan.
Meanwhile, Batyr Atdaev called for the reopening of joint trade exhibitions as well as border markets.
"We also propose that both countries sign a deal to boost bilateral trade and establish joint border markets,” he said.
Iran and Turkmenistan share a 1,148 km border. The Turkmen capital Ashgabat is just 15 miles north of the border which is nearly 50 miles away from Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city.
Earlier, Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi announced that the Iran-Turkmenistan trade volume witnessed an 84 percent year-on-year growth in 2021.