Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 1
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed new ways of promoting Tehran-Ankara economic ties, the official IRNA news agency reported Nov. 1.
In a meeting on the sidelines of Beijing Foreign Ministerial Conference of "the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan" on Oct. 31, the two top diplomats called for more contacts between the two sides' officials to pave the ground for further development of the mutual cooperation in various fields in particular in tourism and transportation.
Iranian FM also invited his Turkish counterpart to visit Iran.
Istanbul Process is an agreement reached in 2011 by 14 regional and 16 extra- regional countries, as well as 12 international organizations. According to the agreement, the members should do their best to establish security and stability in Afghanistan.
Istanbul Process has had three meetings so far, two of which were held in Turkey and one in Tajikistan. Beijing was the host of the fourth meeting.
Iran and Turkey signed 10 economic agreements during a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the head of a high-ranking delegation to Turkey in June.
The trade turnover between Iran and Turkey in the first half of 2014 stood at $6.5 billion, according to data released by Turkish Statistical Institute.
The trade turnover between Turkey and Iran stood at $22 billion in 2012 before dipping to $14.5 billion in the following year due to the economic sanctions imposed on Tehran by the West