TEHRAN (Iran News) – The coordination meetings of Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Committee were held during the visit of the Iranian minister of transport and urban development as the head of this committee to Ankara.

During his visit to Turkey on Wednesday, Mehrdad Bazrpash held separate meetings with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the country’s Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Ashkin Bak, who is also the the head of the joint committee, and the minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu to coordinate the approvals at the upcoming joint committee.

At the meeting with Fidan, the Iranian minister stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great importance to the development of comprehensive relations with its neighbors.

“The cooperation of the two great powers of the region, Iran and Turkey, can bring peace, stability, security and prosperity to the region,” Bazrpash said.

He further made suggestions regarding holding a tripartite meeting between the foreign ministries of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan in order to increase the role of transit corridors in the economy of the three countries.

According to Bazrpash, the volume of trade between Iran and Turkey, as the third trading partner of the Islamic Republic, has increased significantly after the Covid pandemic.

Fidan for his part referred to the two countries’ trade target of $30 billion and said that this volume of trade can be achieved by increasing bilateral cooperation.

He emphasized the cooperation between the two countries in various fields of energy, including oil, gas and electricity, as well as customs.

Iran, Turkey to sign comprehensive transport co-op document

Also, during the meeting with Uraloglu, the Iranian official reviewed some road transport problems between the two countries and announced Iran’s readiness to develop cooperation in all sectors of transportation including road, rail, air and sea and to sign a comprehensive transport document with Turkey.

In this meeting, the two sides, while examining the fields of transportation cooperation development, put the increase in the volume of road and rail transit on the agenda.

According to the latest figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), the trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey in the first 11 months of 2023 reached $5.0 billion, showing a 13 percent decline compared to the same period of last year.

Iran’s trade with the neighboring country stood at $5.8 billion in January-November 2022, Tasnim News Agency reported.

According to TURKSTAT, Turkey’s exports to Iran from January to November 2023 reached $3.0 billion, recording a seven percent increase compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Turkey exported over $2.8 billion worth of products to the Islamic Republic in the first 11 months of 2022.

Turkey’s imports from Iran however registered a 33 percent decline and fell from $3.0 billion in January to November 2022 to $2.0 billion in the first 11 months of 2023.

The Turkish Statistical Institute reported a 42 percent increase in the country’s exports to Iran in November 2023. Turkey’s exports to Iran were reported to be $290 million in November last year, while the figure has increased to $412 million in November this year. Iran has been the 13th destination of Turkey’s export goods this month.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s import from Iran in November 2023 reached $182 million with a 13 percent decrease compared to the previous year. Turkey had imported $212 million of goods from Iran in November last year.

The total trade between the two countries in the 11th month of 2023 reached $594 million with an 18 percent growth compared to the same period last year.

Based on the data previously released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the value of Iran’s exports to Turkey increased by 19 percent to reach $3.35 billion in 2022.

Turkey had imported over $2.82 billion worth of commodities from the Islamic Republic in 2021.

Based on the mentioned data, Iran’s imports from the country also marked an 11-percent rise to hit $3.07 billion in the past year, in comparison with 2021, when the figure was $2.77 billion.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, the trade between the two countries registered a 15-percent rise in 2022 compared to 2021.

The value of trade between the two neighbors reached $6.42 billion in 2022, while the figure stood at $5.59 billion in the preceding year.

Iran’s trade balance with Turkey was $280 million positive in favor of Iran in the past year