Iran-Turkmenistan trade amounted to $1 billion in 2017, said Turkmenistan's deputy minister for finance and economy.
Roshan Nouria Ghadyev, who was addressing Iran-Turkmenistan Trade Conference held concurrent with the 14th Iran Exclusive Exhibition in Ashgabat on Friday, added that official statistics indicate Iran-Turkmenistan trade exchanges exceeded one billion dollars in 2017 while Turkmenistan's exports to Iran doubled compared to its imports from the Islamic Republic.
The Turkmen official further said that Iran is among the top ten target countries for Turkmenistan's exports.
Turkmenistan mainly imports metals, plastic goods, potato and fruits from Iran while it exports electricity, sulfur, cotton, textiles and natural gas to Iran, he said.
Noting that Iran-Turkmenistan partnership was mutually beneficial, he said that Iran was among the first states which recognized Turkmenistan's independence.
Meanwhile, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari.
In the meeting, Berdimuhamedov underlined the potential for expanding productive partnership, based on the experience of long-term cooperation in various sectors.
The two sides confirmed their intention to promote further intensification of business contacts, increase trade turnover and stimulate investment activity.
Among the priority areas of cooperation are energy and transport. One of the most striking examples is the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran transnational railway, put into operation several years ago and designed to facilitate the optimization of traffic flows throughout Eurasia.
Iran is Turkmenistan's third most important foreign trade partner. The two countries focus on joint activity in the transport and transit sector, road construction, as well as in the power engineering and gas sectors.
