Official: Iran Attaches Great Importance to Ties with Turkey

TEHRAN (defapress)- Iranian President's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi said on Friday that expanding cooperation with neighboring countries, especially Turkey, is of high strategic importance to Iran, highlighting that Tehran is after deepening all-out relations with Ankara.

News ID: 74325

Date: 14 December 2018 - 20:54

Vaezi, in a meeting with Turkish Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan in Ankara today, said the current atmosphere of relations between the two sides gives hope for further efforts and a quicker pace to reach the desired level in trade and economic transactions.

The senior Iranian official’s visit to Turksih capital city of Ankara is aimed at preparing the ground for the upcoming visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Vaezi noted the agreement reached between President Rouhani and President Erdoğan to reach a volume of $30 billion worth of trade transactions between Tehran and Ankara, calling for joint efforts to remove hurdles facing the two countries’ private sectors and businesses.

The Turkish trade minister, for his part, deemed Iran a strategic partner for Turkey, saying the Islamic Republic will always hold a special position in the country’s political and economic arenas.

He further described the upcoming high-level meeting of Tehran-Ankara’s strategic partnership as a golden opportunity to reach the $30 billion trade target.

In a related front in early September, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Tehran, and underlined the need to further expand bilateral relations in different fields.

During the meeting, the Iranian and Turkish presidents explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation in different political and economic fields.

The Iranian president pointed to the brotherly relations between Tehran and Ankara, and more efforts by the authorities of the two countries to achieve the goal of strategic relations.

President Rouhani also underlined that Iran and Turkey should boost efforts and cooperation to confront the US sanctions, and said, “Banking relations between the two countries should develop to make plans for solving problems”.

He also described Iran-Turkey commercial exchanges through national currencies as essential, and said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to further develop relations with Turkey in the energy sector."

The Iranian president stated that the multilateral relations between Iran and Turkey with other countries in the region, such as Russia, Pakistan and Qatar, could be the guarantor of peace, stability and security in the region, adding, "Our efforts to fight terrorism in the region should be such that less civilians are harmed."

The Turkish president, for his part, lauded Iran’s warm hospitality, and said, "Tehran-Ankara relations are positive.

"We need to develop, strengthen and deepen relations in all fields," President Erdogan said.

The Turkish president, meantime, described the stances of the United States administration towards other countries unacceptable, and said, "Iran and Turkey should plan to develop trade and economic relations in the current situation and expand business”.

Erdogan also emphasized the development of Iran-Turkey banking relations and the use of national currency in commercial exchanges.

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