Iran, Turkey call for boosting ties

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Tehran and Ankara should use opportunities to bolster their bilateral relations, particularly in trade.


Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with Turkish Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz in Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

He said that Iran-Turkey interactions are expanding and deepening day by day, adding that the two countries have common enemies, who are against the promotion of ties between the two countries.

Yilmaz, who is in Iran at the head of a large delegation of Turkish businessmen and industrialists, also met with Deputy Iranian Commerce Minister Massoud Movahhedi, the Chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines, Mohammad Nahavandian, and a number of Iranian businessmen.

Yilmaz reiterated his country's opposition to the US-led sanctions against Iran, saying Turkey will not comply with the restrictive measures.

He emphasized that Iran and Turkey should use all the existing opportunities and capacities to boost the volume of the bilateral trade.

The two neighboring countries have sharply increased the level of their trade ties over the past years. In 2000, the level of the bilateral trade stood at only around USD one billion, but in 2010, it exceeded USD 10 billion. The figure hit USD 15 billion last year.


/Trend/