Iranian president visiting Turkey, will sign agreements strengthening ties
Ankara, Tehran look to increase economic cooperation with first Iranian presidential visit to Turkey in 18 years.
By JPOST.COM STAFFTurkish PM Erdogan in Iran.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Turkey and Iran are set to sign six agreements to strengthen political and economic cooperation during President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Turkey on Monday, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported on Saturday.Though the agenda has not been finalized, Rouhani will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, the report said.A target trade volume has been set by Turkey and Iran at $30 billion with talks planned to negotiate economic and political strategies to meet that goal, and they intend to sign six agreements to strengthen cooperation.“Turkey’s economic and political relationship with Iran continues to expand, even as the Turkish political elite’s ties to the Iranian underworld have mired the AKP government in scandal,” Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has told The Jerusalem Post.Rouhani is said to have plans to discuss regional strategy with Turkey, especially regarding Syria – which has long been a subject of disagreement between the two countries.Iran supports the regime of President Bashar Assad, while the Turkish government, led by the Islamist AK Party, is supporting the Sunni opposition.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has said: “We [Turkey and Iran] have shared stances on many issues and also some differences on the crisis in Syria.And we hope that we can resolve these differences with the help of each other,” according to a report by Iran’s Fars News Agency.
