Tayyebnia, Turkey’s Simsek Meet in Washington

The minister of economy has called for greater momentum in economic and banking ties between Tehran and Ankara.

“Iran’s banking industry is willing to increase correspondent relations with Turkish banks. I hope that based on recent agreements, the process of collaborating with Turkish banks would gain speed,” Ali Tayyebnia told the deputy prime minister of Turkey in Washington,  Exim News reported.

The minister, who is in Washington to take part in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, pointed to successful collaboration between Iran and Turkey in trans-border business deals in the past.

“To accelerate the process of doing business with Turkey, Iran is ready to go beyond the single-window clearance system and move toward creating a joint cargo clearance mechanism that we are convinced can create the grounds for a fundamental evolution in two-way commerce.”

Mehmet ?im?ek, the Turkish deputy premier, welcomed the proposal and Iran’s willingness in developing joint efforts to improve customs and business procedures.

“We are indeed ready to expand customs collaborations between the two countries and are of the belief that this could be a significant move toward increasing bilateral business,” ?im?ek was quoted as saying.

Pointing to the cultural and political ties between the two neighbors, the Turkish official appreciated the stance of the government in Tehran preferring the expansion of bilateral commerce. He noted that the volume of investments and business deals between Iran and Turkey “is in no way proportional to the level of two-way political ties.”

?im?ek said Turkey is ready to share its valuable experience regarding funding the private sector in production ventures.

Emphasizing the need for the expansion of banking ties, he said the groundwork has been laid for some major Turkish banks to establish correspondent relations with their Iranian counterparts. “The banks will soon elevate their ties with Iranian banks to the operational level.”