MNA reported that Iran and Turkey have agreed to increase the value of their bilateral trade to USD 30 billion by 2015.

The agreement was made during the 23rd meeting of Iran and Turkey joint economic committee in Ankara on January 18th 2012 which was chaired by Mr Ali Akbar Salehi foreign minister of Iran and Mr Erdogan Bayraktar environment and urbanization minister of Turkey.

Mr Salehi said that Iran is a trustworthy partner for Turkey, the two countries can complement each other and their economies should be interwoven. Iran, as a reliable supplier of energy and Turkey, as an industrial country, can have close economic cooperation.

He said that providing the necessary facilities, implementing economic agreements and holding more meetings will help the two countries achieve the trade target of USD 30 billion in 2015. Iran and Turkey can cooperate in such a way that they would form an axis of peace and stability in the region.

Mr Bayraktar said that the value of trade between Iran and Turkey increased by 70% in 2011 and expressed hope that it would reach USD 30 billion by 2015 through efforts by the committee.

(Sourced from Mehr News Agency)