Iran ready to offer investment projects to Turkmen, CIS partners
Iran is ready to offer feasibility-tested investment projects in energy, transit, agriculture, industry and special economic zones to partners in Turkmenistan and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, a senior Iranian official said Thursday, according to IRNA.
Speaking at the Ashgabat Investment Forum, Mehdi Heydari, deputy economy minister and head of Iran’s Organization for Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance, said Tehran viewed the forum as an opportunity to open a new chapter in economic cooperation with Turkmenistan.
He highlighted joint investment, infrastructure development, technological cooperation and greater private-sector participation as key areas for expanding bilateral economic ties.
Heydari said stronger connections between regional markets would be central to future investment, pointing to the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Middle Corridor and closer links among Central Asia, the Caspian region, the Persian Gulf and global markets.
“Iran can provide Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries with access to the Persian Gulf, open waters and Middle Eastern markets, while Turkmenistan and Central Asia can help expand Iran’s access to the Eurasian economic space,” he said.
He identified energy, transit and logistics, agriculture and food processing, and industrial investment in free and special economic zones as priorities for future cooperation.
In the energy sector, Heydari highlighted gas swaps, energy transmission and storage, refining and petrochemicals. In transport, he cited investment in rail and road fleets, border terminals, logistics hubs and Caspian maritime connections.
He also pointed to the potential to link Central Asian agricultural production with Iran’s processing, packaging and distribution capacity, creating opportunities for joint access to regional and international markets.
Heydari cited existing cross-border projects, including the Korpeje-Kurt Kuy gas pipeline, Friendship Dam, Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway and Incheh Borun-Bereket rail link, as examples of successful bilateral cooperation.
He called for investment opportunities to be backed by clear institutional mechanisms, predictability and viable projects, and invited regional partners to turn economic dialogue into concrete joint investments.