Kazakhstan, Iran eye economic cooperation

"Astana and Tehran share common stance on many issues of regional and international agenda, energy security and economic interaction," Minister Dossayev said during the meeting. In his words, the new Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway will cement not only bilateral but also commercial and economic cooperation between the two nations. It is also said to raise effectiveness of the transport and communications system of the region several-fold. According to Mr. Dossayev, construction of the Iranian section of the railroad has already been completed. The sides also touched upon the problems of commercial and economic cooperation. They stressed that Kazakhstani-Iranian relationship is stable and is set to strengthen in the future. According to the ministry's data, sales turnover between Kazakhstan and Iran amounted to $620.6 million in 2013.