Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri, in a phone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Wednesday, underlined the responsibility of the two neighbors to help restore peace and stability to the region.
Congratulating the premier on his recent appointment, Jahangiri said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, as the two influential regional states, carry the grave responsibility of solving the conflicts and leading the region toward development, stability and prosperity."
He expressed Tehran's readiness to expand bilateral relations in all political fields, including transport and tourism, and facilitate investment in the markets of the two countries, IRNA reported.
Yildirim said Ankara attaches great significance to its relations with Tehran and called for removing administrative obstacles to increasing cooperation between the two sides' private sectors.
Yildirim took over last month after former prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu stepped down following weeks of public tension with President Tayyip Erdogan.
Ankara and Tehran are on different sides of Syria's civil war, but they have so far managed not to allow political differences to mar two-way trade and banking ties after international sanctions on Iran were lifted in January under a historic nuclear deal with the major powers.
Tehran has stood by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of the insurgency against him five years ago. Ankara has been one of his fiercest critics, supported his opponents, given refuge to rebel fighters and has said that the embattled Syrian leader should go sooner rather than later.
Turkey imports large amounts of natural gas from Iran and the two countries have often said they intend to triple annual bilateral trade to $30 billion.
