Tehran, July 26, IRNA – Minister of Road and Urban Development called for removing of trade obstacles between Iran and Turkmenistan on Sunday.

Abbas Akhundi made the remark in the 14th Joint Economic Cooperation Commission of Iran and Turkmenistan.

He said that existing two important passages in east of the Caspian Sea can play an important role in development of trade exchanges between the two countries.

Akhundi said that in the past two years, presidents of both countries have met four times, which indicates the two countries' emphasis on expansion of political and economic relations.

He also called for facilitation in issuing visas for citizens of the two countries.

The minister underlined development in border markets between the two countries and said that both countries should try to remove the trade obstacles and adpt the necessary measures in that concern.

The Iranian side's chairman of Joint Economic Cooperation Commission of Iran and Turkmenistan said that by opening the Inche-Boroun Railway Station, the North-South corridor in East of Caspian Sea has become more active, but the international passage needs serious actions to remove the obstacles in the way of passengers and goods' transportation.

Akhundi evaluated the Sarakhs-Bandar Abbas passage important for development of trade ties between the two countries and said that the North-South corridor can facilitate the increase of exchanging among various countries.

There are plenty of capacities for developing trade ties and in recent visit of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani of Turkmenistan important agreements were made.

Upon agreement, shuttle of trucks in the border terminals should increase to one thousand vehicles per day and for the next three years volume of exchanges should reach around 10 million tons annually.

He underlined the importance of development of transit between the two countries and said that in the first four months of current year (Iranian calendar) compared with the same period of prvious year, the volume of goods transit between Iran and Turkmenistan increased 2.5 times and efforts need to be made to increase it to 3 million tons till the end of the year.

The minister stressed that Iran is ready to offer services in all fields of rail, marine, aerial transportation, agriculture, electricity transfer, power plant projects and technical, engineering services to Turkmenistan.

Referring to a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which is to be signed at the end of the 14th Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting here, Akhundi expressed hope that considering the presence of Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister in Tehran, an important MOU could be signed for development of ties in many fields.

By IRNA