In his address to the CIS summit in Turkmenistan on Friday, Pezeshkian emphasized that Iran can play a key role in strengthening the region’s economic and connectivity resilience as a strategic route linking Central Asia and Eurasia to open waters.

The president stressed the need to counter war, crises, external pressures, and disruptions to economic and transport routes, saying regional countries’ shared interests lie in connecting routes rather than competing with one another.

He also highlighted Iran’s southern ports on the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, particularly Chabahar, as gateways linking Central Asia to South Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Highlighting Iran’s geographical, historical, and cultural ties with regional countries, Pezeshkian proposed establishing a “CIS+1” cooperation framework with Iran’s participation to expand joint efforts in transit, energy, trade, investment, technology, the environment, tourism, and scientific and cultural exchanges.

He stressed the need to connect regional capacities while respecting countries’ independence, calling for stronger cooperation, interdependence, and security based on trust and shared interests rather than isolation, destructive competition, and threats.

The CIS summit was held at Turkmenistan’s Avaza national tourism zone. Iran had been invited to the summit with President Pezeshkian heading an Iranian delegation.

The summit opened on Friday with a group photo featuring the participating leaders, including the presidents of Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as the prime minister of Armenia.

MNA