TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi said Sunday cooperation with neighboring and regional countries is a priority of Iran as he arrived in Turkmenistan to attend the 15th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
President Raisi was officially received by his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow upon arrival in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat.
Speaking before leaving Tehran, Raisi said Iran’s participation in the summit can help develop regional cooperation and strengthen relations with the neighboring countries.
The president said Iran has always followed a policy expanding relations with its neighbors. He would discuss important issues such as gas, transit and trade exchanges with Turkmen leaders, the president added.
In a meeting with ECO Secretary General Khusrav Noziri in Tehran on Tuesday, Raisi said the ECO member states enjoy great capacities that can bring about economic prosperity in the region, calling for efforts to remove the stumbling blocks to closer ties within the Asian politico-economic bloc.
“Any kind of obstacle and problem on the path of developing cooperation must be removed so that economic exchanges and interactions among ECO member countries will reach a higher and superior level,” he said.