Gholam Hossein Shafei, president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), who headed the Iranian business delegation accompanying President Hassan Rouhani to Turkey last week, has proposed the two countries set up barter trade in a bid to accelerate mutual commerce as well as offset the sanctions.
"The barter trade can help develop trade and economic relations between the two coutries," said Shafei addressing the Iran-Turkey business forum in the Turkish capital. He also urged the two countries' investors to increase their bilateral activities in a bid to enter third countries' markets. The Iran Chamber of Commerce president promised that the entity he is presiding will do whatever it can to pave the way for an upgrade in private sector investment in Iran and Turkey.
Common traders, as well as trade representatives from Iran's transport and petrochemical sectors took part in the joint Iran-Turkey business talks. Shafei also called for the creation of a specialised working group to facilitate the current preferential trade deal between Tehran and Ankara.
$30bn trade target
Rouahani and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to step up their economic cooperation with the aim of reaching a $30-billion target set for their annual trade, voicing concern over the reimposition by the US of unilateral sanctions against the country, a move which they say could affect the entire region's economy.
The agreement was reached at the 5th Meeting of High Council for Iran-Turkey Strategic Cooperation in Ankara chaired by Rouhani, and Erdogan, according to a joint statement issued at the end of the event on Thursday.
Tehran and Ankara, the statement added, called for closer bilateral relations in all areas, especially economy, politics and fight against terrorism, saying enhanced ties between the two neighbors will contribute to the region's peace and stability.
Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, (middle left), sits next to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, (middle right), ahead of a joint conference in Ankara, Turkey.
They emphasized the need to promote the existing trade mechanisms between the two neighboring states so they could speed up efforts to increase the volume of their annual to the $30 billion target they had previously set.
The two sides further criticized Washington's decision to scrap the 2015 multilateral deal on the Iranian nuclear program officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in defiance of UN Security Council resolution 2231, which has endorsed the international document.
They also expressed concerns over the unilateral sanctions that the US reinstated against Iran in the aftermath of its withdrawal from the JCPOA, saying the unfair restrictive measures could harm innocent people and leave a negative impact on regional economic relations.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said in a tweet that "neighbours for the past 400 years, Iran and Turkey will cooperate to promote peace and security in the region".
Iran and Turkey also called for all-out efforts to protect the nuclear deal, which they hailed as the fruit of multilateral diplomacy on the world stage.
In turn, Erdogan pledged that Ankara will continue to cooperate with Tehran, stressing that his country does not support the American sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
"The US withdrawal from the nuclear deal is not considered as the right one. This decision increases the risks of the situation in the region, we do not support it. We will continue to be close to Iran at a time when unjust decisions are being taken against it," said the Turkish head of state.
He added that the goal of Turkey and Iran is to increase trade turnover from 11 billion to 30 billion dollars.
"We have good cooperation in the field of security, and we will not let it break," said Erdogan. During Thursday's talks, Rouhani and Erdogan also oversaw the signing of a number of agreements in different fields, including economy, politics and culture.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, the Iranian chief executive arrived in Ankara on Thursday for two days of talks with senior Turkish officials on issues of bilateral and international significance.
'Iran ready to provide Turkey with energy needs'
The two presidents later joined an economic forum attend by senior Iranian and Turkish businessmen. At the event, Rouhani said Iran was ready to
provide Turkey with its energy needs, voicing Tehran's readiness to turn US sanctions into an opportunity for closer relations with Turkey in the economic sector.
The two countries, he said, should move towards free trade, saying Tehran was prepared to pave the ground for Turkish investors to play a more active role in the Iranian energy market.
Erdogan also used his speech at the forum to once against slam the US for targeting the Iranian people by its sanctions, saying that the two countries must not allow the bans to hinder the growth of bilateral ties.
Ankara will not abide by the American bans, he said, emphasizing that no party can ask Turkey to decrease its relations with its neighbors.