Turkmenistan ready to ramp up gas exports to Iran
The foreign minister of Turkmenistan said his country is interested in boosting gas exports to Iran.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 17th Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission in Ashgabat on Saturday, Rashid Meredow emphasized that Turkmenistan is fully prepared to increase the export of gas to Iran and this issue will be put into effect in the near future, Tasnim news agency reported.
Iran and Turkmenistan inked a gas contract in 1997 to further expand cooperation in the field of gas swap deals, he underlined.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Meredov pointed to the electricity cooperation between Tehran and Ashgabat, adding that his country is willing to export electricity to third countries via Iran.
The head of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission also expressed the willingness of Turkmenistan to develop bilateral relations in the agricultural sector, and added that Iran has gained good achievements in this sector and Ashgabat intends to take advantage of those experiences.
Turkmenistan’s foreign minister emphasized that the two countries share cultural and religious commonalities, and that cooperation between the two countries will be in the interest of the two nations.
The two countries signed two cooperation documents, worth about $1 billion, at the closing ceremony of the 17th Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission.
The two cooperation documents were inked in the presence of Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and Meredow.
They feature the construction of a 242km-road in Turkmenistan and also construction operation of an electricity transmission line and export of parts and equipment of the power industry.
The two cooperation documents were signed by Iran’s Deputy Roads Minister and Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC) CEO Kheirollah Khademi, and CEO of Iran Power Management, Distribution and Transmission Company (TAVANIR) Arash Kordi and their Turkmen counterparts.
In addition, the two sides emphasized launching direct flights between Mashhad and Ashgabat.
Bazrbash pointed to the settlement of Iran’s gas debt to Turkmenistan and added that the remaining debt will be settled through bartering with the construction of Kum Dagh-Incheh Boroun Road.
Iran and Turkmenistan also signed memoranda of understanding in the fields of veterinary medicine, agriculture, electricity, power transmission lines and export of electricity equipment and construction materials from Iran to Turkmenistan.
On the proposal of the Iranian side, the 18th edition of the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission will be held in Tehran in September 2024.
Meanwhile, the Iranian deputy oil minister for gas affairs said on Sunday that Iran and Iraq have agreed to form a working group on gas exports to the power plants in Baghdad.
Talking to Shana, Majid Chegeni added the group comprising Iranian and Iraqi experts will work on the extension of the contract before the end of 2023.
He pointed to the recent meeting between Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji and Iraqi Minister of Electricity Ziyad Ali Fazel in Tehran and said the two countries are keen to develop their relations in the gas sector.
Chegeni, who is also the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) managing director, said Iran has been meeting a major part of Iraq’s energy needs for many years, adding Baghdad is eagerly seeking to extend the gas deal.