Turkey, Iran will use national currencies in trade
By Kamila Aliyeva
Turkey and Iran will use national currencies in trade in order to further improve mutual turnover between the two countries.
This was stated by Iranian First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri during a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara, Turkish media outlets reported on October 19.
He noted that Ankara and Tehran are interested in strengthening trade and economic relations.
The use of the national currency in trade between the countries will help increase the turnover, according to Jahangiri.
Earlier, during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iran, Ankara and Tehran reached an agreement on the use of national currencies in trade.
Iran can also increase oil and gas supplies to Turkey, the top official said.
Turkey and Iran have a common opinion on the settlement of conflicts in the region, according to the first vice-president.
"Muslim countries should jointly solve problems," Jahangiri said.
Iran and Turkey are considered to be regional rivals but have recently sought to maintain a pragmatic relationship, with the Islamic Republic strongly supporting Erdogan after last year's failed coup.
Both countries share sympathy with Qatar in a diplomatic rift between the Gulf emirate and its neighbors which erupted in June. Along with Iran, Turkey has denounced the Erbil referendum on Kurdish independence as a threat to the stability of a region already beset by conflict.
The trade turnover between Iran and Turkey in the first quarter of 2017 amounted to $3.5 billion, according to the Turkish Institute of Statistics (TUİK).
In 2016, the trade between the countries amounted to $9.66 billion.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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