Source: developing 8.org
Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, who
pays a historic visit to Turkey with an Iranian delegation composed of
one vice president, seven ministers and a number of businessmen,
described partnership between Turkey and Iran as 'strategic' and
'strong' with future plans to deepen relations in every field.
Iranian
President Hasan Rouhani arrived in Ankara early June 9 for crucial
talks on a number of key issues in his first official trip to Turkey
since he took over the presidency last year.
Rouhani
was welcomed by Turkish President Abdullah Gül at an official ceremony.
The two presidents announced they have decided to improve bilateral
relations at the joint press conference following their meeting.
“[Rouhani] is the first Iranian president who has paid an official visit
to Turkey in the last 18 years. This is why the visit is historic,” Gül
said, describing Iran as “an old, valuable friend.”
“The
visit carries our bilateral relations forward in every area. We
expressed our common will during the meeting,” Gül said, stressing that
several deals from culture to economy have been agreed upon. “Our
relations are not just about two countries. They are important for the
whole region and the world,” Gül said.
Rouhani
emphasized the joint target of increasing bilateral trade from $15
billion to $30 billion. “Instability [in the region] is not in the
favour of anyone in the world,” Rouhani said, adding that integrating
Turkish railroads with Iranian ones in the border town of Bazergan was
one of the deals agreed upon during the June 9 meeting.
The
two presidents also said they will meet businessmen from both countries
on June 10 to encourage them to invest in the respective countries.
Iran
and Turkey have signed 10 accords of cooperation in a meeting both
presidents attended. The agreements reportedly were intended to ‘deepen
bilateral relations between Tehran and Ankara’ more than ever. Rouhani
and Gül attended the joint meeting to sign the agreements. The
agreements addressed cooperation in cultural and scientific exchange
programs, tourism, cultural heritage, post, standard institutes, and two
customs agreements.
Rouhani’s Meeting with PM Erdogan
Turkey
will bolster its trade ties with neighbouring Iran by speeding up the
implementation process of a preferential trade agreement signed in
January. We had set a goal during my visit to Iran in January: to raise
the trade between the two countries to $30 billion by 2015," Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a joint press conference with Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani on 9 June.
Erdogan
said the trade between Turkey and Iran stood at $22 billion in 2012
before dipping to $14.5 billion in the following year due to economic
sanctions imposed on Tehran. "As part of our endeavour to fix this, we
have reaffirmed the necessity of forming a High Council of Strategic
Cooperation and establishing a preferential trade zone between the two
countries," he said. Trade volume between Turkey and Iran stood at $3.2
billion in the first quarter, according to Turkey's official statistics
office.
For his part, Iranian President Rouhani
said Erdogan and himself exchanged views on bilateral ties and regional
developments. Calling on Turkish businessmen to invest in Iran's
railways and ports, he said Iran and Turkey reached agreements to boost
cooperation in energy, transportation, tourism and banking. Also
discussed in the meeting were international and regional issues as well
as cooperation between the two states in international organizations
such as the U.N., Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and especially
the D-8.
Describing Turkey as one of the
most important countries in the region, Rouhani said his
administration’s foreign policy priority was to increase relations with
neighbouring countries. Recalling his meeting with Erdogan in Tehran in
January, Rouhani said important agreements on transportation, customs,
tourism, culture, security and political relations would be signed
during the talks.
The two officials reiterated
their objectives to increase the trade volume to $30 billion by the end
of 2015. Erdogan said Turkey is planning to ratify the agreement of
preferential trade with Iran until the end of this month so that they
could reach their objective.
In Turkey visit,
Rouhani heads a delegation of his cabinet members including ministers of
foreign affairs, roads and city planning, oil, information technology,
interior, intelligence, culture and Islamic guidance, and economic
affairs.
Link:http://developing8.org/Latestnews.aspx?NewsTitle=President%20Rouhani%27s%20Turkey%20visit%20a%20turning%20point%20in%20relations%20between%20D-8%E2%80%99s%20two%20important%20members.
Link:http://developing8.org/Latestnews.aspx?NewsTitle=President%20Rouhani%27s%20Turkey%20visit%20a%20turning%20point%20in%20relations%20between%20D-8%E2%80%99s%20two%20important%20members.
