TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for expansion of cooperation in various areas in a phone conversation on Sunday.

The phone call took place on the eve of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, by Muslims on Monday.

Rouhani said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to expand relations with Turkey as a friendly and brotherly country.”

He also called for implementing agreements between the two countries.

Erdogan said that Ankara is ready to expand ties with Tehran in various spheres.

According to Press TV, Iran and Turkey, as major trade partners, plan to increase their annual trade to 30 billion dollar in defiance of the U.S. pressure aimed at isolating Iran’s economy.

In the three-month period beginning in late March 2019, Turkey imported around $2.2 billion worth of goods and services from Iran, a five-fold jump compared to the similar quarterly period in 2018, according to data released by the Tehran chamber of commerce on Monday.

NA/PA