Erdogan urges Turkey-Iran joint effort against Islamophobia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the expansion of cooperation between Tehran and Ankara in countering terrorism and Islamophobia.
The Turkish president made the remarks in a meeting with the new Iranian Ambassador to Ankara Mohammad Hassan Habibollah-zade, according to IRNA.
Erdogan said that there are many fields in which both countries can cooperate. He noted that Tehran and Ankara can raise the volume of annual trade to $30 billion, calling for more efforts by officials to remove barriers in the way expanding trade.
Back in 2018, Iran and Turkey agreed to step up economic cooperation with the aim of reaching the $30-billion target set for their annual trade.
Iran and Turkey experienced a major rise in their bilateral trade over the Iranian year to March 20, as shipments rose in value terms despite a fall in volume, according to an analysis of trade figures from the Iranian customs office (IRICA).
The analysis published by IRIB News on Sunday showed that trade between Iran and Turkey had reached a total of $12.7 billion in the last Iranian calendar year, up 19% from the year to March 2022.
The report said that Iran-Turkey trade had increased by 115% in terms of the Iranian currency over the period.
That comes as shipments traded between Iran and Turkey fell by nearly 7% in volume terms in the year to late March, a sign that businesses in the two countries had opted for trade of commodities with more added value, said the report.
During the meeting on Thursday, the Turkish president also invited the Iranian president to visit Turkey and expressed his happiness with the imminent visit of the Turkish foreign minister to Tehran.
The Iranian ambassador, for his part, said Tehran and Ankara would continue to exchange views on leading bilateral, regional and international political developments. He also hailed the common stance of Iran, Turkey and a number of Muslim countries vis-à-vis the recent desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden and Denmark.