Turkey Ready to Expand Trade Ties With Iran
Merali told Secretary General of Iran's Cooperatives Chamber Mohammadreza Ramezani that Turk-Is, which covers 462 manufacturing, industrial and commercial companies, is ready to make joint investment in Iran, especially for production of office furniture, garments and metal processing.
Ramezani said for his part that Iran's cooperatives chamber with about 10 million members is determined to expand its commercial and trade activities and upgrade its trade relations with the neighboring states, including Turkey.
The total trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey in the first four months of the current year increased by 36 percent compared to the same period last year and stood at $416.055 million.
Trade exchanges between the two countries in the first four months of 2000 was $305.071 million.
A survey conducted by Turkey's State Statistical Institute, which was made available to IRNA in Ankara, said, "Turkey's export to Iran in the first four months of the current year amounted to $94.74 million while imports from Iran in the same period was $321.313 million."
Based on the same report, Turkey's export to Iran in the first four months of 2000 amounted to $87.327 million while imports from Iran reached $217.744 million.
Turkey's export to Iran in April of the current year amounted to $24.432 million and its import from Iran in the same period stood at $70.119 million.
Last year's figures for the same period was $16.953 million and $74.12 million respectively.
Irano-Turkish trade exchanges in 2000 recorded a 31-percent increase compared to 1999 and reached $1,040,423.
Oil was Turkey's major imported item from Iran. Turkey's annual crude oil imports from Iran amount to about five million tons.
Informed sources predict a remarkable boost in Iran-Turkey trade ties upon the commissioning of a gas pipeline project to transfer Iran's gas to Turkey. The project is expected to become operational next month.