“Economic and trade ties between Iran and Turkey are in line with common interests of the two countries,” Rahimi said in a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday.
He added that the growing trade relations between Tehran and Ankara indicate the two countries’ willingness to strengthen mutual ties.
He expressed hope the value of trade exchanges between the two neighbors would reach 30 billion dollars in the near future.
Iran and Turkey have sharply increased the level of their trade ties over the past years. In 2000, the level of bilateral trade stood at only around USD one billion, but in 2010, it exceeded USD 10 billion. The figure hit USD 15 billion last year.
The two sides seek to raise the value of their bilateral trade to USD 30 billion by 2015.
Erdogan, for his part, pointed to increasing ties between the two countries in trade and economic sectors and said both sides are making efforts to bring the value of exchanges to 30 billion dollars soon.
He added that Tehran and Ankara have also held positive talks on bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, expressing hope that they would continue such negotiations.
Iran's First Vice President Rahimi arrived in Ankara at the head of a high-ranking political and economic delegation to discuss bilateral ties aimed at increasing the level of economic cooperation between the two countries.
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