Iran-Turkey trade transactions to hit $30bn

Head of Izmir Chamber of Commerce Akram Demir Tash underlined that his country and Iran are determined to increase the value of their trade balance to $30 billion in the near future. "The value of Iran-Turkey trade transactions is about $15 billion at the moment and this figure will be increased to $30 billion after witnessing a 100-percent rise," Demir Tash told FNA in Assalouyeh city in the Southern Bushehr province on Sunday. He reiterated that Turkey is interested in investment in Iran, and said, "We hope to achieve the desired results on this path." A 62-member Turkish delegation is currently in Bushehr and they are slated to visit different industrial and economic centers of the province during their two-day trip. 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. Last month, Iranian Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi in a meeting with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Feridun H. Sinirlioglu underlined the necessity for the two neighboring countries to boost their trade exchanges to $30bln by 2015. "The two countries aim to reach the volume of $30bln in their trade and commercial relations by 2015 and we seek to attain this goal through planning and by removing possible obstacles," Vaezi said during the meeting in Tehran in March. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a high-ranking political-economic delegation made a visit to Tehran in January. During the visit, Erdogan underlined his country’s enthusiasm for starting a new chapter in the relations with Tehran, and said Turkey is in dire need of Iran’s energy resources. “We import oil and natural gas from Iran and those are strategic products that Turkey imports from Iran and we can receive them more (than before),” Erdogan told reporters in Tehran after inking several documents on cooperation with Iran. "Given the fact that Turkey’s industries are making progress on a daily basis and rapidly, we direly need energy products, specially Iran’s natural gas, and we should take joint win-win steps," he added. Erdogan also called for the further expansion of bilateral economic ties with Tehran, and said there is a political resolve in Iran and Turkey to increase the level of their trade exchanges to $30bln in 2015.