TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Iran and Turkey have signed new contracts totally worth $400 million for boosting mutual trade ties during the Tehran visit of the Turkish Minister of Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen, the press reported here Sunday.

The Persian-language newspaper `Qods' quoted Tuzmen as saying that Iran and Turkey had decided to sign preferential trade agreement to improve trade in a balanced way.

He also said that Iran had committed to reduce all customs duties and similar taxes imposed on Turkish products to four percent within the next five years.

Tuzmen stressed that this would have a significant contribution to encouraging Turkish enterprises to participate in Iran's markets.

The Turkish minister further recalled a project of $200 million to develop Iran's major Imam Khomeini Airport, stressing that a contract to implement the project will be signed between Iran and Turkey in 15 days.

Tuzmen said that Tehran-Ankara talks over undertaking car and locomotive sale to Iran and Tehran-Qom-Isfahan and Qazvin-Bandar Anzali railway projects by Turkish companies had progressed during his talks with Iranian officials.

He also said that Iran and Turkey had agreed to open three new trade centers at their joint borders stressing that both countries expected the centers to boost their mutual trade volume by $100 million.

Heading a 300-member economic delegation, the Turkish state minister arrived in Tehran Tuesday night on a three-day visit for discussing avenues to further expand economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries.