Tehran, Ankara explore measures to bolster trade

TEHRAN, March 4 (MNA) - A delegation from the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines met with a number of Turkish private sector entities in Ankara to discuss ways to boost to bilateral trade ties. Iranian consul general to Ankara, Mahmoud Heidari, said that the two sides have the potential to expand relations in mineral, petrochemical, cement, steel, automotive and weaving industries. The Turkey’s All Industrialists and Businessmen's Association Director Hasan Sert, underlined the need for paving the way for the private sectors of the two sides to strengthen their economic relations. The value of trade between Iran and Turkey reached around $15 billion in the first 11 months of 2011, showing a 55 percent rise compared with the same period last year. The two countries’ trade value stood at $10.6 billion in 2010, 97 percent more than in 2009. The Turkish Statistical Institute reported that in the first 11 months of 2011, Turkey’s exports to Iran stood at around $3.2 billion in comparison to $11.6 billion imports from the Islamic Republic. In February 2011, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that the value of trade between Iran and Turkey will reach $30 billion by the end of the current calendar year 1390 (to end March 19, 2012).