Iran, Turkey eying increased trade up to $30bln
"Iran plans to have a trade volume of $30 billion dollar with Turkey," Taherian Fard said in a meeting with members of Izmir Chamber of Commerce in the Turkish city.
The Iranian ambassador reiterated that Iran and Turkey have 600 kilometers of common borders and three official customs gates, which should be used to increase trade exchanges.
"Currently trade exchange volume between the two countries is around $12 billion, which could be increased three folded through contribution of their private sectors," Taherian Fard added.
The Iranian ambassador reiterated that the private sector in Turkey is strong and well-experienced, and said, "Iran is trying to develop its private sector."
Deputy Head of Izmir Chamber of Commerce Jamal Elmas Oglu, for his part, said Iran has great capacity in tourism and bilateral trade.
He called for broadening of mutual cooperation between the two countries, specially in the tourism sector.
In a relevant development last October, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valiollah Seif and his Turkish counterpart Murat Cetinkaya in a meeting in Ankara approved the draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to use their national currencies in their transactions.
Seif and Cetinkaya reached the agreement with the aim to facilitate trade with the national currencies of the two countries in order to finance trade and direct investment between the two countries.
Under the terms of the MoU, rial of Iran and Turkey’s lira will be easily converted to each other and the issue will reduce cost of currency conversion and transfer for traders of both sides alleviating the need for other currencies.
In other words, the two central banks will be able to use international payment instruments, including credits and negotiable ones, to finance trade in national and local currencies, as envisaged in the agreement.
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