Iran, Turkey open new border crossing

In a move to strengthen bilateral relations, Tehran and Ankara have opened a new border crossing between Iran's West Azarbaijan province and Turkey's Van province, PRESS TV reported.

The Kapikoy-Razi border crossing was opened in a ceremony attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday.

"We hope that by opening the Kapikoy-Razi border we could achieve the USD 30-billion target in trade transactions between the two countries," ISNA quoted Salehi as saying during the ceremony.

Salehi described the future of Tehran and Ankara as "bright," adding that the presidents of Iran and Turkey are determined to strengthen bilateral relations.

Davutoglu said trade volume between Turkey and Iran has exceeded USD 10 billion.

During a meeting in February, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul said Tehran and Ankara were determined to increase the value of annual trade ties with Turkey to USD 30 billion.

Following the ceremony, the two foreign ministers attended the trilateral meeting of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan which was held in the Iranian city of Orumiyeh on Saturday.


/Trend/