Iran, Turkey to erect industrial town

Iran and Turkey are pursuing a plan to set up a joint industrial town at their borders to further boost widening economic ties, Ankara's Ambassador to Tehran Umit Yardim  says, Press TV reported.

"We intend to build the Iran-Turkey joint industrial town by the end of the year," Fars News Agency quoted Yardim as saying in a meeting with Vahid Jalalzadeh, the governor of Iran's West Azerbaijan province, on Saturday.

Jalalzadeh also said the governors of border provinces between Iran and Turkey "should set the ground for construction of the town."

Tehran and Ankara officially inaugurated a new border crossing between Iran's West Azarbaijan province and Turkey's Van province on Saturday.

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

The Turkish envoy to Tehran also noted that the two neighboring states are making efforts to expand their trade volume to $15 billion by the end of 2011.

During a meeting in February, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul said Tehran and Ankara were determined to boost the value of their annual trade ties to $30 billion in a five-year period.


/Trend/