Tehran, Iran, March 19
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Turkey on Saturday to seek closer ties with the neighboring country.
"We are looking for the best of economic relations with Turkey in the post-JCPOA era," he said upon arrival in Istanbul, ISNA news agency reported March 19.
Tehran and Ankara intend to increase their trade volume to $30 billion a year. The two states have signed a preferential trade agreement that could pave the way for a rise in the bilateral trade. The two countries' trade turnover stood at $13.7 billion in 2014, according to the data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute.
"With the background of common threats, exchange of ideas on regional developments is among the items on agenda during this trip," said Zarif.
Iran and Turkey have dissimilar stances regarding the major ongoing regional crisis of Syria.
The Iranian foreign minister is slated to meet with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Turkey.
In early March, Davutoglu visited Iran with ministers of economy, customs and trade, energy, transport, communications and development, government officials and representatives of major Turkish media outlets.