ASHGHABAT (Turkmenistan.ru) – A program of cooperation in the sphere of tourism signed along with other intergovernmental documents during an official visit to Turkmenistan by the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, took effect on Wednesday and is valid until 2009.

According to the document, Turkmenistan's State Committee on Tourism and Sport and the Organization of Cultural Heritage and Tourism of Iran would regularly exchange advertisement materials and information in the sphere of tourism and on the historical monuments and sights located in the territory of the two countries and would inform each other on the laws regulating tourist business and procedures for making joint investments in the tourist projects, inform about investment priorities in the sphere of tourism, organize and hold seminars for tourist companies.

The sides agreed to help create conditions for preparation of materials about tourist attractiveness of Turkmenistan and Iran, films and radio programs for broadcasting on the national TV and Radio, publication of books, brochures and booklets. Assistance will be provided in conducting joint tours, tourist exhibitions, culture weeks. For this, the two countries would establish cooperation in holding trainings in tourism and hotel management, in establishment of links between scientific, education and research centers specializing in tourism activities.

The State Committee on Tourism and Sport and the CHTO will exchange the lists of tourist companies and hotels. They will consider the possibilities to establish cooperation, including along the Great Silk Road route, and continue exchange of specialists and teachers for participation in conferences and study courses in the sphere of development of the tourism industry and preservation of historic monuments.