Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 29
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
Ankara and Tehran consider oil and energy sectors as the main fields for boosting bilateral ties, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Jan. 28, Iran's SHANA News Agency reported on Jan. 29.
"The two countries plan to boost their bilateral trade ties. Implementation of the Geneva deal has facilitated the issue," Zanganeh said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tehran late on Tuesday. He is heading a high-ranking delegation.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian welcomed Erdogan at Tehran's Mehrabad airport.
Turkish prime minister is scheduled to hold meetings with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and other high-ranking officials during his two-day visit to Tehran.
Boosting bilateral trade ties is considered as the main priority of Erdogan's official visit.
Turkey imported 180,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran in 2011, however, the figure was decreased to 105,000 barrels per day in 2013 due to U.S.-led sanctions again Iran's oil and gas sector..
According to IRNA, the two countries, trade volume stood at $13.5 billion in 2013. Iran's oil and gas exports accounted for $7.6 billion of the mentioned amount, while Turkey's exports to Iran were a little more than $4 billion.
Iran and Turkey eye increasing their bilateral trade to $30 billion in the near future. The figure is scheduled to reach $100 billion in nine years.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangane held a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Anakra on Jan. 21, the Iranian IRIB News Agency reported.
"During the meeting we reached some good agreements to boost bilateral trade ties," Zanganeh added.
Each country formed a group to continue the negotiations, so that the two neighboring states are able to finalize the agreements and sign the memorandums of understanding during the Turkish prime minister's visit to Tehran.
The Iran-Turkey trade was around 22 billion dollars in 2012.
The two countries have always stressed that their short-term annual trade target should be about 30-35 billion dollars.
