TEHRAN – Iran and Turkmenistan have prepared a document for cooperation in energy and transportation areas on the sidelines of the 15th Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Committee meeting, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, quoting a senior official.

“The chairs of the committee from both sides, also ordered the development of a timetable for operationalization of the document, particularly in the fields of energy, transport and commerce,” Iran’s Deputy Transport Minister Shahram Adamnejad said.

According to the official, cooperation in the mentioned areas is the two countries’ main priority at the moment.

Mentioning the fact that the event was held after a four-year hiatus, Adamnejad said “Holding joint economic committee meetings is very important in the current regional situation and it is a turning point in the economic cooperation between the two countries.”

The 15th Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Committee meeting was held last week in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat.

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 October 15 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 was also accompanied by several parliament members, Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Vice Chairman Hossein Salahvarzi and 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 also met 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