The president made the remarks in a meeting with Chairman of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and his accompanying delegation.

Tehran-Ashgabat relations have been considerably enhanced since Iran’s incumbent government took office about two years ago, as it is determined to boost the country’s ties with neighbors, Raeisi added.

He referred to water scarcity as a predicament regional countries are faced with and pointed out, “If countries in the region had constructive cooperation like Iran-Turkmenistan cooperation on shared waters management by building Friendship Dam, the problems would be reduced.”

A major part of regional problems and lack of serious cooperation in different sectors stem from foreign presence, said the president, adding foreign presence in the region not only does not bring about peace and security, but also undermines peace and security.

Iran is determined to establish peace, stability, and security in the region, underlined Raeisi, adding, “Unlike the West which claims is a human rights advocate, we are seriously seeking to defend human rights and are convinced that the Westerners are the accused and not the claimant in this regard.”

Berdimuhamedov, for his part, said Turkmenistan and Iran, as two neighboring and friendly countries, have all the time sought to deepen their relations.
Turkmenistan has supported and will back Iran’s policies on establishment of peace in the region, he added.

The chairman of the People’s Council of the National Assembly of Turkmenistan said his country is eager to develop its cooperation with Iran in the fields of energy, rail and road transportation, transit and customs affairs, electricity swap, trade, economy, industry, health, and water and agriculture.

Iran-Turkmenistan cooperation in building Friendship Dam is a model of the two countries’ regional collaboration and will continue, Berdimuhamedov concluded.