Iran and Turkey registered $3.78 billion in trade during the first 10 months of 2021, 74.83% higher than last year’s corresponding figure.
Iran exported goods worth $1.93 billion during the period, up 142.82% year-on-year, while imports from Turkey grew by 35.31% YOY to $1.85 billion, latest data by Turkish Statistical Institute show.
Iran and Turkey exchanged $440.82 million worth of goods and commodities in October 2021, 63.98% higher than the value registered in the same period of last year.
Iranian exports to Turkey accounted for $243 million of the sum, up 159.31% YOY.
Turkey’s exports to Iran stood at $197.81 million, up 12.97%.
Monthly trade between Iran and Turkey fell below $300 million in September 2020, mostly due to a decline in Iran's exports to the neighboring country, following Covid-19 restrictions. However, trade started to improve in December, raising hopes for recovery from the impact of the pandemic on trade.
Bilateral trade stood at $3.43 billion in 2020, registering a decrease of 45.82% compared with 2019.
Iran exported $1.192 billion worth of goods to Turkey in 2020 to register a 66.9% year-on-year decline while imports from Turkey stood at $2.245 billion, down 17.97% YOY.
Turkey’s aggregate value of exports amounted to $169.482 billion down 6.3%. The country’s imports amounted to $219.397 billion in 2020, up 4.3%, compared with January-December 2019.
Deal to Boost Ties Signed on Sidelines of ECO Summit
Turkey and Iran signed an agreement to comprehensively improve relations at the 15th Economic Cooperation Organization) summit held in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat on Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter that Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan also agreed to convene a high commission meeting during Erdogan's next visit to Iran's capital Tehran, Daily Sabah reported.
Describing relations between the two countries as "historic", Amir-Abdollahian said they "agreed to talk about the comprehensive improvement of relations and removal of some obstacles".
Raeisi and Erdogan held a closed-door meeting as part of the summit.
In October, the interior ministers of Turkey and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding dto prevent terrorism and illegal activities facing the countries, particularly along their borders.
The two countries are part of the Astana process, which was initiated by Turkey, Iran and Russia to bring the warring sides in Syria together to find a permanent solution to the decade-long war.
Iran’s Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Farazmand recently said Iran supports Erdogan’s initiative to establish a 3+3 peace mechanism in the Caucasus region.
The ambassador said Iran welcomes the initiative brought up by Erdogan in November 2020.
Preferential Trade Agreement
Finalizing ongoing negotiations with Iran for the expansion of bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement is a priority, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said.
“The trade deal came into effect on Jan. 1, 2015, and negotiations have been ongoing to expand the pact by increasing the number of traded products between Turkey and Iran,” Donmez told the virtual 28th Turkey-Iran Economic Commission held earlier this year.
Customs cooperation was another topic up for discussion at the meeting. Within this scope, both sides agreed to an electronic data interchange protocol, to carry out a simplified customs frontier project and the mutual recognition of an Authorized Economic Operator project.
Donmez noted that these projects will have a positive impact on foreign trade volumes by enabling easier and faster trade while eliminating bureaucratic procedures based on mutual trust.
Both sides agreed that technical teams would meet in the near future to put the plans into action.
“The two sides also agreed on increasing fairs and exchanging trade delegations between Turkey and Iran to show our [Turkey’s] concrete support and the great importance attached to cooperation between private sector representatives,” he said.
“Support for the activities of the Turkey-Iran Business Council and other private sector establishments, notably small- and medium-sized enterprises, would also continue, particularly after the pandemic.”
Consequently, both sides agreed to commit to talks on developing an “action plan” between the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey and its Iranian equivalent, Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization.
Donmez concluded that the commission also addressed other areas of cooperation, including health, energy, transportation, education, environment, agriculture and forestry.
Social Security Agreement
The Turkey-Iran Social Security Agreement signed on March 24 is expected to strengthen commercial and economic relations between the two countries.
Fatih Cayabatmaz from the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association told Anadolu Agency that the agreement offers important opportunities for the business world.
"The implementation of the Turkey-Iran Social Security Agreement will increase the Iranian businessmen's interest in Turkey,” he added.
Noting that Iranians topped the list of foreigners establishing a company in Turkey, Cayabatmaz said, "In February, Iranians came first on the list with 75 companies.”
In addition to reinforcing relations, it will warm “the two nations towards each other," he added.
The Turkish official said that as per the new agreement, Iranian businessmen who have founded a company in Turkey need to submit documents indicating that they paid insurance in their home country for their Iranian staff, without having to pay insurance in Turkey.
"The time Iranian workers spend working in Turkey will be valid in Iran. This will reduce costs and increase the possibility of Iranian businessmen’s investment in Turkey. The same applies for Turkish businessmen operating in Iran and their personnel," he said.
Cayabatmaz noted that health insurance for an employer would be valid in the other country, allowing workers to access health services free of charge.
A previous Social Security Agreement between Turkey and Iran, signed on April 16, 2016, was approved by the Turkish Parliament on March 24.
With the addition of Iran, the number of countries with effective social security agreements with Turkey rose to 34.
UAE-Iran-Turkey Transit Corridor
The UAE-Turkey transit corridor through Iran became operational with the first shipment from the UAE port of Sharjah en route to the Turkish port of Mersin docking at the Iranian Shahid Rajaee Port earlier in November, before reaching Turkey through the Bazargan border crossing in northwest Iran.
Mohammad Hossein Rezaian, an expert in the field of transit, told Mehr News Agency on the new transit route that the consignment entered the port of Shahid Rajaee in southern Iran along the Persian Gulf from the UAE and reached the Turkish port of Mersin.
The expert said the new route shortens the former transit route by 12 days, meaning that it will take eight days for the shipments to reach Turkey's port through Iran from UAE's Sharjah while the previous route had to cross the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal and all the way to Turkey, which would take 20 days.
Iran lies in a geographical location that can link different countries in the region as well as different regions in the world to one another.
Last summer, the first shipment from Finland to India crossed Iran in late June.
