Envoy: Turkey-iran ties satisfactory
Ankara-tehran relations are at a satisfactory level and the two countries have strong bonds of friendship and abundant affinities with ties between the two countries entering a special phase, observed the Turkish ambassador to Iran.
Reza Hakan Tekin hoped that relations between the two countries would further expand to other areas, including industry and energy, reported Fars News Agency.
The Turkish ambassador pointed to Iran’s First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri’s recent visit to Turkey, and said that the two countries are resolved to increase exchange of visits by the two countries’ officials in the near future.
In early October, highranking Iranian and Turkish officials signed four cooperation agreements in a meeting in Tehran in a ceremony attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The documents pertained to customs and banking ties as well as cooperation between the national libraries and state TV and radio organizations of the two countries.
Following the meeting, President Rouhani underlined that banking ties between the two countries will further expand and they will increase trade relations using national currencies.
In relevant remarks in July, Iran’s former communications and information technology minister Mahmoud Vaezi announced that Tehran and Ankara are mulling free trade relations after their agreement on preferential trade agreement.
“Iran and Turkey have agreed to convert the preferential trade agreement which is already in place between the two countries to a free trade agreement,” Vaezi said in a meeting with Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci in Tehran.
He pointed to the recent meetings between the Iranian and Turkish presidents, and said, “President Hassan Rouhani and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had underlined an increase in trade between the two countries to $30 billion.”