Ankara hosted a meeting between directors of Iran’s Maku Free Trade Zone and Turkish traders and investors on Friday.
Located in West Azarbaijan Province just over 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the Turkish border, Maku is the largest free trade zone in Iran, encompassing an area of over 5,000 square kilometers.
It was established in 2013 and is home to Bazargan, which is Iran’s largest export terminal and the only Iranian ground border for trading between Turkish and Iranian businessmen.
Iran’s Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian, who was present at the Friday meeting, invited Turkish producers and businessmen to take part in Iran’s solo exhibition in Istanbul from October 25 to 28.
Taherian also announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Iran on October 4.
Erdogan said Iran-Turkey Economic Commission’s meeting will be held during his visit to Tehran.
The most recent meeting between the presidents of Iran and Turkey was held on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Summit in Kazakhstan on September 10, during which the two sides called for further military and security cooperation and discussed Erdogan’s upcoming visit to Tehran, Mehr News Agency reported.
The Turkish Statistical Institute’s latest data indicate that Iran exported about $4.5 billion worth of goods to Turkey during the seven months ending July 2017, registering an 80% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Imports from the neighboring country over the same period amounted to $1.8 billion, indicating a 37% fall year-on-year, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Iran-Turkey trade stood at $6.3 billion over the seven-month period, showing a 16% rise compared with last year’s similar period.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints