TEHRAN – Senior officials from Iran and Turkey’s economic sectors met on Tuesday as a committee to follow up on the preferential trade agreement reached between the two countries.

In the meeting, the acting head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), Hamid Zadboum, mentioned the two countries’ great potentials for economic cooperation and called on the two sides to take necessary measures for increasing the two countries’ trade turnover.

“In the past five years, the volume of trade between Iran and Turkey has exceeded $53 billion, and considering the determination of the two countries’ presidents, the figure should increase to $150 billion over the next five years,” Zadboum said.

The official mentioned the preferential trade agreement between the two countries which has been operational since 2015 and said “We hope that with the support of the governments of the two countries, the agreement would continue in the best way for both sides and it would pave the way for further expansion of trade ties,”

The Turkish side also expressed their country’s willingness for expansion of relations with Iran in all areas especially in trade and called for creation of a positive atmosphere for the two sides’ businessmen to know each other more and to interact effectively.

At the end of the meeting, it was also announced that the next Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Committee meeting is slated to be held during 17-18 September in Ankara.

EF/MA