TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Oil Ministry is ready to sign a multi-billion-dollar contract with Turkmenistan on energy and trade, a senior energy official announced on Tuesday."There are many pending (joint) projects between Iran and Turkmenistan and if they will be enforced the volume of trade balance between the two countries will hit $5 billion," Senior Advisor to Oil Minister Mohammad Taqi Amanpour told FNA on Tuesday.
He underlined that Iran has proposed different goods to Turkmenistan and the two sides will sign a 400-million-dollar agreement in this regard.
Amanpour said that Iran has short-, mid- and long-term plans for work in Turkmenistan.
Iran and Turkmenistan have had official diplomatic relations since Turkmenistan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Iran was the first nation to recognize Turkmenistan as an independent country.
The two countries have maintained good relations ever since and have cooperated in the economic, infrastructure and energy sectors.
In September, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in a meeting in Dushanbe called for the further expansion of the two countries' relations.
During the meeting in the Tajik capital, the Iranian and Turkmen presidents explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation.
The Iranian president pointed to the status quo of Tehran-Tashkent relations, and said, "Iran and Turkmenistan has historic and cultural relations and the two countries should do their best to enhance their trade exchanges."
He pointed to inauguration of Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, and said, "Iran is the safest route to connect central Asia to the Persian Gulf."
The Turkmen president, for his part, welcomed development of ties with Tehran in various fields, including energy, trade and road construction.
The two heads of states also conferred on latest regional and international developments.
By Fars News Agency
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