Minister: Iran Keen to Boost Ties with Turkey
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s minister of communication and information technology voiced the Iranian government's willingness to boost relations with Ankara in different fields.
“The government of President Rouhani is determined to elevate the level of economic, energy, cultural, industrial and tourism cooperation will all neighboring countries, especially Turkey,” Mahmoud Vaezi said in a meeting with Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Fridon Sinirlioglu in Tehran on Wednesday.
Vaezi added that Tehran seeks to enhance the level of bilateral relations in accordance with the two countries’ potentials.
He said Iran and Turkey have set a target to increase the value of bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2015, stating, “We intend to achieve this level of cooperation by planning and removing the possible obstacles."
Elsewhere in his remarks, Vaezi referred to the regional developments, including the crisis in Syria, and said dialogue and interaction can help reduce the number of conflicts and resolve issues in the region.
Sinirlioglu, for his part, described Iran as “our great neighbor,” and noted that the two countries’ relations have been rapidly growing in recent months.
He referred to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Tehran in late January, and said Ankara firmly seeks to develop cooperation and consultations with the Islamic Republic of Iran to enhance regional security and stability.
Sinirlioglu also highlighted Erdogan’s invitation to President Rouhani to pay an official visit to Ankara and hoped that a visit by the Iranian president would significantly contribute to the implementation of the agreements already signed between the two countries and provide a new atmosphere for further bilateral cooperation.
