Iran, Turkey Agree on Building Industrial Town near Common Borderline

(FNA)- Iranian and Turkish officials in a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday agreed to establish a joint industrial town near their common borders.

The agreement was struck by Iranian Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi and Turkish Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz.

During a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday, Vaezi proposed setting up an industrial town near the Northwestern Iranian city of Bazargan which was also agreed by Yilmaz.

The Turkish development minister is in Tehran to discuss bilateral ties with senior Iranian officials.

Yilmaz also took part in the 24th meeting of the Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Cooperation Commission to follow up on Tehran-Ankara trade and economic relations.

Last week, Iran's Ambassador to Turkey Alireza Bigdeli underscored that Tehran and Ankara are resolved to pursue seriously their common goal of boosting annual bilateral trade up to $30bln by next year.

The 24th Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting kicked off in Tehran with an expert meeting on Monday to pave the ground for the materialization of the two countries' common economic goals.

The meeting of the representatives of ministries and economic organizations of the two countries is held on Tuesday and Wednesday after a review over cooperation in the last year. They will also prepare the economic programs of the two countries for the next year within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Before his departure to Tehran, the Turkish development minister praised his country's trade ties with Iran, and said Ankara is determined to broaden its trade and economic relations with Tehran.

Iran and Turkey increased their trade transactions in the first two months of 2014 as compared with the figures of the corresponding period in the last year.

The value of trade transactions between Tehran and Ankara hit $2.115bln in January and February, the trade data recently released by the Turkish government said.

Iran and Turkey have in recent years increased their cooperation in all the various fields of economy, security, trade, education, energy and culture.

The two sides have exchanged several politico-economic delegations during the last few months.