TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has sent a congratulatory message to his Turkmen counterpart on the occasion of the anniversary of the country’s Independence from the Soviet Union.

In the message, President Raisi called for the expansion of relations with Turkmenistan in order to fulfill the mutual interests of the two neighbors and ensure regional peace and security, according to Tasnim News.

Raisi sent the message on Wednesday to Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow.

Highlighting the cultural and historical bonds between the two nations, Raisi said the mutual interests and the exchange of high-ranking delegations play a significant role in the promotion of relations.

He also expressed hope that joint efforts by the two countries would help broaden the bilateral relations, fulfill the mutual interests, and promote the regional and international peace and security.

The Independence Day of Turkmenistan is the main state holiday in the Central Asian country that is celebrated annually on September 27.

Iran and Turkmenistan have shown wiliness to further boost their relations, especially in economic areas of cooperation. They have expressed interest in increasing the value of bilateral trade to $60 billion in a 10-year period.

The two countries are also cooperating in many other fields. In August, Tehran and Ashgabat emphasized the need to cooperate on tackling sand and dust storms (SDS) originating from the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan.

Iraj Heshmati, the deputy head of Iran's Department of Environment, and Charygeldi Babanyyazov, the Minister of Environment of Turkmenistan, held a meeting via video conferencing on Tuesday, August 15.

They discussed the impacts of climate change, particularly SDS, on the health of people, and their economic and social activities in the region, IRIB reported.

Studies show that the Karakum Desert, with an area of about 10 million hectares in Turkmenistan, is one of the sources of dust storms in the north and northeast of Iran, Heshmati pointed out.