TEHRAN (Iran News) Ömer Bolat, during a joint press conference with Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development on Monday, highlighted the 29th meeting of the Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Commission and the signing of the commission’s memorandum of understanding. He also referred to the target of achieving $30 billion in trade between the two countries and noted that trade between Iran and Turkey has increased in 2024, with Turkish companies investing approximately $2 billion in Iran.

The Turkish trade minister also pointed out key topics such as the reconstruction and modernization of border crossings on the Turkish side and efforts to operationalize them. He further discussed facilitating and streamlining transportation between the two countries, as well as enhancing trade, transport, and transit relations. According to him, both sides have reached agreements on these matters.

Iran’s Minister of Roads Farzaneh Sadegh, heading a delegation, traveled to Ankara today (Monday, January 29) to participate in a bilateral meeting with the Turkish ministers of transport and trade.

On the sidelines of the event, Iranian Minister announced the formation of a joint committee aimed at addressing transportation issues between Iran and Turkey. She stated that these efforts will lead to progress in the agreements made, according to the roadmap set for 2025.

Sadegh made these remarks, during a one-day visit to Turkey. The visit was aimed at attending bilateral meetings with Turkey’s Ministers of Trade and Transport.

Following his meeting with Turkish Minister of Trade, Bolat, Sadegh congratulated the Iranian nation on the occasion of Eid al-Mab’ath and highlighted the achievements of the visit. He noted that less than a month ago, after several years, Iran hosted the Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Commission meeting.

He added that during the meeting, agreements were signed not only in the transportation sector but also in areas such as currency exchange, energy, customs, agriculture, and other mutual interests.

Sadegh stated that, given the seriousness of both parties in implementing the signed agreements, he traveled to Ankara, Turkey’s capital, and first met with the Turkish Minister of Trade.

The Minister of Roads and Urban Development further emphasized that one of the key issues discussed was facilitating transportation across the borders of both countries. He noted that due to the deep cultural and historical ties between Iran and Turkey, as well as their strategic position in transit, both countries benefit from bilateral cooperation.

He pointed out that discussions were held today on facilitating transit and customs procedures between the two countries, and significant decisions were made in these areas.

Sadegh announced the formation of a joint committee to follow up on transportation-related issues between the two countries, emphasizing that these efforts will lead to progress in the agreed terms as per the roadmap for 2025.

On December 12 of this year, a memorandum of understanding on Iran-Turkey trade cooperation was signed in the presence of Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development and Turkey’s Minister of Trade. Both sides reiterated their commitment to boosting bilateral trade to $30 billion over the next five years.

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In a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Salajeqeh said environmental issues know no borders and any kind of environmental pollution in one country can involve all countries of the region.

Referring to the increase in environmental challenges caused by climate change, he mentioned the decrease in rainfall, the lack of water resources, and the occurrence of fires among the consequences of climate change.

“We are very happy with the growth and development of Turkey, but the climatic conditions require that in the exploitation of common water resources, the status of downstream countries should be respected,” Salajeqeh stressed.

“We signed two environmental memorandums in the year 1389 (March 2000-March 2001) and the year 1394 (March 2015-March 2016) and an action plan in the year 1396 (March 2017-March 2-18), but they have remained almost stagnant and should be implemented.”

He invited the Turkish environment minister to take part in the international conference on combating sand and dust storms which is scheduled to be held in Tehran on September 9-10.

The Turkish envoy, for his part, described environmental issues as complex and called for greater interaction and cooperation between the two countries in the field of environmental protection.

In February, Salajeqeh said that based on the successful experiences of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of combating sand and dust storms, the United Nations introduced Iran as the host of the international conference on combating sand and dust storms, IRIB reported.

Arrangements have been made with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in July, this meeting will be held in Tehran with the presence of the environment ministers of the world countries, Salajeqeh said.

The Department of Environment will hold five international meetings in the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 21, he added.

“At least five international meetings will be held this year, one of which is the conference on combating sand and dust storms,” he added, IRNA reported.

One of the approvals of the regional meeting of environment ministers, which was held in Iran last summer, was the establishment of a regional dust organization, he highlighted.

“Environmental diplomacy is the main priority for the country’s political diplomacy, so holding the conference on combating sand and dust storms is important for us.”

So far, 11 meetings of the national headquarters for policymaking and controlling dust storms have been held and the results of these meetings should be evaluated and made public, he stressed.

In the field of diplomacy, the Department of Environment has held meetings with neighboring countries to the extent that Egypt has also announced its readiness to attend the Tehran meeting, he highlighted.

He pointed out that a delegation from Iran will travel to Iraq in the near future to discuss the issue of sand and dust storms in order to make decisions to deal with the problem.

In July 2022, Tehran played host to a conference of ministers and officials from 11 countries, aiming to boost cooperation for resolving extant environmental problems, especially sand and dust storms.

Environment ministers of Iraq, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, and Qatar, as well as deputy ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan along with delegations from Turkey and Uzbekistan, participated in the event which was held with the theme of “Environmental Cooperation for a Better Future.”

Addressing the opening ceremony, President Ebrahim Raisi emphasized that the preservation of the environment is essential and an inevitable priority.

Raisi had earlier obliged the Department of Environment to diligently pursue the solution of sand and dust storms through diplomacy and international forums, as well as interaction with neighboring countries.

“Conservation of the ecosystem and environment, which is a global concern, especially for countries of the region, is an inevitable priority today. If the environment is not safe and peaceful for people, the development will not be in its proper place and it will even become a threat to human health,” Raisi stated.

The SDS phenomenon has been plaguing the country for several years and has caused problems in many provinces.

According to studies, eight large sand and dust storm hotspots stretching to 270 million hectares in neighboring and Persian Gulf countries are affecting Iran.

Regional maps show that Saudi Arabia produces the highest level of particulate matter, followed by Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, and the UAE, respectively.

According to experts, natural and human factors are involved in the occurrence and severity of this phenomenon which is mainly caused by excessive consumption of water and drying up reservoirs.

To deal with sand and dust storms, positive measures have been taken inside the country.

A ten-year plan has been prepared to curb internal sources of sand and dust storms.

The internal dust sources are estimated at 34.6 million hectares, generating an average amount of 4.22 million tons of dust per year, about 1.460 million hectares are dried wetlands.

In recent years, about €370 million has been spent by the National Development Fund to combat SDSs, which had good results, but it seems that the annual credit is declining as conditions improve.

Letizia Rossano, the director of the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM), said in June 2022 that Iran is really at the forefront of understanding the problem of sand and dust storms as well as dealing with it.

More than 80 percent of the entire populations of Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are exposed to medium and high levels of poor air quality due to sand and dust storms,” she noted.

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Speaking to ILNA, Mehrdad Saadat talked about the outlook of trade relations of Iran and Turkey and said that both countries have very good relations but due to the sanctions their trade volume declined from $21b during the past years and it was $7.5b last year and this figure shows a growth comparing to the preceding year but it is far beyond the heyday figure.

He noted that the chamber has good plans for the current year for boosting trade between the two countries, adding that the first program was holding a forum in Istanbul which was welcomed by the Turkish traders.

Meanwhile in an interview with IRNA, he called for a “positive” attitude of the government to trade with neighboring countries, saying this can remove political problems and trade barriers and will help expansion of economic ties.

Saadat told IRAN that rising figures of foreign trade should not misguide economic operators.

He said Iran should now go for a target of 15-billion-dollar trade with Turkey, which is still much lower than the former 21-billion-dollar commerce between the two countries.

Saadat said the joint chamber has already held exhibitions and conferences and has set the stage for Iranian expatriates in Turkey to get acquainted with their Iranian counterparts to attract investments.

The official said, however, that the government should also work to ease trade.

“It is expected that the government addresses the issue of [trade with] neighboring countries, especially Turkey, carefully and seriously,” he said.

“Turkey, as a neighbor, has extraordinary advantages for Iran, and with steps taken by the government, the private sector can also take steps in line with the national interests.”

“We hope existing problems between the two countries are quickly eliminated.”

According to IRNA, Iran exported $6.1 billion worth of products to Turkey the previous Iranian calendar year, which shows a 141-percent increase year-on-year.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Turkish ambassador in Iran underscored Ankara-Tehran partnership in contributing to regional peace and stability, downplaying their minor differences of opinion.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Derya Ors said Ankara-Tehran alliance together, they can play a key part in the establishment of peace and security in the region.

Turkey and Iran are two heavyweights in the region, whose alliance could eliminate problems, said the ranking diplomat.

Ors told Iran Daily on the sidelines of an event marking the 96th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey that he envisioned a brighter future in terms of increased bilateral relations for the two neighboring nations.

The ambassador added that his country deems good neighborly relations with Iran as crucial and noted, “The friendship between Turkey and Iran has historical roots and goes a long way back and we appreciate such cordiality.”

Although there are differences of opinion concerning some regional issues, said the ambassador, there are so many commonalities that prevent different viewpoints from creating obstacles.

“Therefore, the two countries’ statesmen come together on different occasions and discuss different issues.”

He also made reference to the Turkish Embassy’s invitation to Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff of the Iranian president, to participate in the event and expressed his gratitude to Iranian authorities for facilitating it.

Ankara-Tehran alliance can be a role model for other countries in the region.

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