Turkey has started to work on a deal with Iran to ease business between the two nations with the ultimate goal of having a full free-trade agreement, Turkey’s Development Minister has said. Speaking at a business forum in Tehran on 16 April, Cevdet Yilmaz said: “The two countries complement each other. Turkey is the gateway for Iran to the west and Iran is to the east for Turkey.
“If the two nations cooperate more, it has the potential to affect the entire region. We can use this potential more accurately by not only increasing trade between two nations, but also by increasing mutual investments – especially in the fields of tourism and services.” He said bilateral trade last year was about US$15 billion – down from US$22 billion in 2012.