DUSHANBE/ASHKHABAD (MNA) – Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad started a tour of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan on Monday. The president left Ashkhabad for Dushanbe on Tuesday. The Iranian delegation has signed twelve cooperation agreements with Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

During his two-day stay in Turkmenistan, the following seven cooperation agreements were inked between the two countries: (1) an agreement on scientific, educational, cultural, and economic cooperation; (2) an inauguration announcement for the Bajgiran–Hudan border checkpoint; (3) a memorandum of understanding on the first session of the joint cooperation commission, signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and the Turkmen interior minister; (4) an MOU on bilateral security cooperation; (5) an MOU on bilateral veterinary cooperation, signed by Mottaki and Turkmen Agriculture Minister E. Orazageldiev; (6) an agreement between Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and the Turkmenistan Committee of Tourism and Sport on tourism cooperation; and (7) an MOU on bilateral cooperation in the electricity industry signed by the two presidents.

Commenting on a previous agreement on oil and gas cooperation, President Ahmadinejad said that Iran is determined to purchase more gas from Turkmenistan, adding that a joint commission is scheduled to hold a session to determine the details.

He expressed hope that Tehran-Ashkhabad ties would be expanded in the 21st century.

Earlier on Tuesday, the first Industrial-Commercial Exhibition of Iran was opened in Turkmenistan during a ceremony attended by the two presidents and a number of high-ranking officials from both sides.

Over 70 Iranian companies are participating in the one-week exhibition to showcase their latest achievements, services, and equipment in the oil and gas sectors and in foodstuffs, goods packaging, and technical and engineering services.

During the opening ceremony for the Hudan–Bajgiran border checkpoint, Ahmadinejad called its inauguration a positive step for strengthening Iran–Turkmenistan relations.

Iran and Turkmenistan are two brotherly countries and are determined to develop bilateral cooperation and interaction in the oil, gas, energy, trade, and transportation sectors, he added.

“I hope the inauguration of the Bajgiran border checkpoint will facilitate the transit of goods and passengers between the two countries,” he added, saying that 70,000 trucks cross this border annually, which could be increased to 200,000 trucks per year through simplification of regulations.

For his part, the Turkmen president expressed interest in developing bilateral ties with Iran in all areas.

Iran, Tajikistan sign five cooperation agreements

Five memoranda of understanding and agreements in various fields were signed between Iran and Tajikistan in a meeting in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

The meeting in which the documents were inked was attended by Iran's president and his Tajik counterpart Imomali Rakhmonov.

The agreements were signed by the ministers of foreign affairs, justice, commerce, labor and social affairs as well as finance and economic affairs of both countries.

The inked documents pave the way for cooperation between the two sides in various sectors, including labor and social affairs, tourism, justice, the establishment of free trade zones as well as preferred tariffs on goods.