TEHRAN – The 15th Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Committee meeting was held on Tuesday in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat, IRNA reported.

The event was attended by senior officials from both sides and Iran's Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami was the Iranian chairman of the meeting.

Eslami arrived in Ashgabat on Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking economic delegation comprised of representatives from the oil, energy and foreign affairs ministries as well as the country’s private sector.

The minister is also accompanied by several parliament members, Deputy Oil Ministry for International Affairs Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Vice Chairman Hossein Salahvarzi and Deputy Transport Minister Shahram Adamnejad.

On the sidelines of the committee meeting, the two sides’ businessmen and entrepreneurs discussed and followed up on expansion of economic relations.

During his two-day visit, Eslami is scheduled to meet and hold talks with Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, minister of industry, communications and transport and also the host country's industrialists.

Back in August, ICCIMA sent a trade delegation comprised of representatives of the country’s private sector active in a variety of areas including transportation, tourism, food industry, energy, construction materials, mining and joint ventures to attend Turkmenistan’s first Caspian Economic Forum (CEF) which was held in Awaza on August 11-12.

In that meeting the two sides had also agreed to expand their economic and political ties.

EF/MA