Official: Iran, Turkey Should Boost Trade Balance to $30bln

Chairman of Iran-Turkey joint Chamber Reza Athar called for the further expansion of bilateral ties, and underlined that the two countries should increase their trade balance to $30 billion in the near future, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Addressing a meeting of economic activists in the Northern city of Qazvin on Wednesday, Athar said commercial relations and transactions between Iran and Turkey will increase considerably.

This year, he added, volume of bilateral trade has reached $15 billion while it stood at about $23 billion in 2011, pointing to the sanctions as the main impediments on growing the figure.

Athar stressed that the volume of bilateral trade should reach $30 billion in the near future.

Iran and Turkey have been pursuing increasing widening of their ties in various fields in the last two decades. Iran is a main energy supplier to Turkey and Ankara has made huge investments in Iran.

Iran is a main destination of Turkish goods and Turkey is among the top destinations of Iranian tourists and traders.

The two states plan to multiply their trade transactions in the next few years.

In November, Iran’s Ambassador to Turkey Bigdeli underlined that Tehran and Ankara have to increase their efforts to reach their planned objectives for 2015.

“Preferential trade, using national currencies in trade exchanges, improving the conditions at border passages and terminals, improvement of financial and monetary cooperation, reciprocal tourism ties, and cooperation in energy and defense sectors should be added to the existing cooperation to move along the targeted path,” Bigdeli said.

In October, Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Reza Hakan Tekin in a meeting with Vaezi underlined that his country doesn’t receive any permission from foreign states for broadening its relations with Iran.

Iran in addition to being a neighbor, having long joint borders and deep age-old, cultural and political ties is a trade partner of Turkey as well, Hakan Tekin said during the meeting in Tehran.

For the expansion of relations and cooperation with Iran, Turkey would not receive permission from any country outside the region, he added.

Hakan Tekin referred to the firm determination of the Turkish government to make efforts for the expansion of its relations with Iran in the economic, trade, transportation and energy fields, and said he was determined to take steps towards removing bottlenecks which hinder promotion of relations.

Vaezi, for his part, said that relations between Iran and Turkey should not be halted due to subsidiary issues, adding that through constant meetings and direct talks measures should be taken to remove impediments.