Turkey calls for bolstering economic, trade ties with Iran

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci called for boosting and broadening bilateral ties with Iran, specially in trade and economic fields.
"I very clearly declare that Turkey prioritizes expansion of its economic and trade relations with Iran," Zeybekci said on Sunday.
He described the landscape of economic and trade relations between the two countries as bright, and said, "Swift implementation of preferable trade agreement between Iran and Turkey will expedite the expansion of the trade relations between the two countries and pave the way for achieving the goal of $35 billion (trade volume) in the mid-term."
Iran and Turkey signed 10 economic agreements during a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the head of a high-ranking delegation to Turkey in June.
Last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to do their best to explore new avenues for expanding all-out ties, and underlined the need for both Tehran and Ankara to have closer cooperation over settlement of regional disputes.
"I hope Iran and Turkey would experience closer and friendlier ties and expand their cooperation for settlement of regional crisis," President Rouhani said during a phone conversation with Erdogan.
Last month, Iran and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the construction of Tabriz-Bazargan highway.
The MoU was signed during a meeting between Iran's East Azarbaijan Road and Urbanization Director General and Managing Director of Turkey's Birgiz Company at the presence of East Azarbaijan Governor General Esmayeel Jabarzadeh in the provincial capital, Tabriz.
The Tabriz-Bazargan Highway will be constructed at a length of 255 kilometers and Birgiz Company is due to carry out a four-month study to estimate the costs of the project.