TEHRAN — A number of CEOs of large holdings and Turkish investors in Iran met with Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, on Thursday night on the sidelines of a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey.

At the beginning of the meeting, the CEOs expressed their views, problems and suggestions for boosting investment.

Later, the speaker stated that the problems raised in the meeting can be solved, saying, “In the government and the parliament, we have given priority to the development of relations with neighbors and Islamic countries, and this is a serious and strong will [of Iran]. We are determined to prioritize bilateral trade.”

He stressed that bilateral trade should not be limited to the time that sanctions are lifted, suggesting that for a variety of reasons plans should be made in a manner that even if sanctions are lifted, bilateral trade will continue to thrive.

The senior parliamentarian added that there are now better grounds for the development of trade and economic relations, especially amendments that will be made to the Seventh Development Plan in this regard.

Referring to the issues raised by Turkish investors and entrepreneurs, Qalibaf added, “The issues and problems that were raised should be followed up and resolved by the parliamentary friendship groups of the two countries.”

He pointed out that studies show that there is a gap between the logistics hub and the financial hub in the trade relations between the two great neighbors, and this has caused problems.

Preparations must be made to fill this gap, he added.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) with the agenda of discussing "Palestine, Immigration and Afghanistan" is being was held on December 9 and 10 in Istanbul. The Turkish parliament hosted the meeting.