Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country has plans to increase energy imports from Iran.
Speaking in an interview with Turkey’s TRT World, President Erdogan briefed the Turkish people on the achievements of his recent visit to Iran.
He said that during his Tehran visit, eight major agreements were signed between the two countries.
The Turkish president said that Tehran and Ankara have agreed to boost trade ties to $30 billion annually.
The Iranian Presidential Office said in a report on July 19 that talks on a new Iran-Turkey gas supply deal had started based on agreements reached between Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting held earlier in the day in Tehran.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi (right center) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are seen during a meeting of top-ranking delegations from the two countries in Tehran, Iran July 19, 2022.
“It was agreed in this regard that a renewal of the contract for exports of Iran’s gas to Turkey for 25 years and an increase in the amount of exports would be on the agenda of the two sides and negotiations (on the issue) started after that,” said the report.
It added that the Iran had declared its readiness to provide Turkey with a stable supply of energy through its natural gas exports.
Iran has been supplying around 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey under a 25-year agreement that was signed in 2001.
However, Turkey has been asking for increased supplies due to a rising demand for energy in the country’s household and manufacturing sectors.