Iran, Turkey bilateral trade to hit $30b

 Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi announced that the speed of trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey has accelerated and will soon reach the targeted goal of 30 billion dollars per year.

Rahimi told the remarks during two-day travel to Turkey on Thursday.  Rahimi’s visit takes place upon an official invitation extended by the Turkish PM, IRNA reported. The ministers of oil, roads, justice, and commerce were accompanying Rahimi during his visit to Turkey.

Iranian First Vice President and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held private talks on different issues including economic ties in Ankara on Thursday.

After the private meeting, a joint-committee of both countries’ high-ranking officials headed by Rahimi and Erdogan started.

“Economic and trade ties between Iran and Turkey are in line with common interests of the two countries,” Rahimi said in a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday.

He said the volume of trade exchanges in the first six month of the current Iranian year, which started on March 20, has exceeded 16 billion dollars which is expected to reach 25 billion dollars by the end of the year.

He added that the growing trade relations between Tehran and Ankara indicate the two countries’ willingness to strengthen mutual ties.

He expressed hope the value of trade exchanges between the two neighbors would reach 30 billion dollars in the near future.

Erdogan, for his part, pointed to increasing ties between the two countries in trade and economic sectors and said both sides are making efforts to bring the value of exchanges to 30 billion dollars soon.

He added that Tehran and Ankara have also held positive talks on bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, expressing hope that they would continue such negotiations.
Iran and Turkey have sharply increased the level of their trade ties over the past years. In 2000, the level of bilateral trade stood at only around USD one billion, but in 2010, it exceeded USD 10 billion. The figure hit USD 15 billion last year.

The two sides seek to raise the value of their bilateral trade to USD 30 billion by 2015.