Iran, Turkmenistan seek to double trade in near future

Iran and Turkmenistan seek to increase their annual bilateral trade from 5 billion U.S. dollars to 10 billion dollars in the near future, Tehran Times daily reported on Monday. The two countries have held six mutual cooperation meetings between 2001 and 2012 and signed a number of agreements to support investment, reduce tariffs and promote business cooperation. Iran is reportedly Turkmenistan's second largest trading partner after Russia. The Islamic republic exports machinery, construction materials, sedans, buses, foodstuff, agricultural and petrochemical products, electrical products as well as home appliances to Turkmenistan, and imports natural gas, electricity, textiles and agricultural products from its northern neighbor.