Turkish PM due in Iran to strengthen relations

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay an official two-day visit to Iran later this month to discuss ways to strengthen mutual relations.

Erdogan will travel to Tehran on January 28, marking his first visit to the Islamic Republic after Hassan Rouhani won the presidential election in June 2013.

According to reports, Iran and Turkey will probably sign a high-level strategic cooperation agreement during the Turkish premier’s trip to Tehran.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on January 7 that Erdogan’s visit would be reciprocated by an official visit by President Rouhani.

“When Rouhani became the Iranian president, Turkey and Iran decided to communicate frequently, if possible every month, to discuss our mutual agendas and exchange views. I can say that we have accomplished this in the past five months,” he said.

Earlier in January, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey and met with Erdogan and Davutoglu.

During the meeting between the Iranian foreign minister and Turkish premier, Tehran and Ankara underlined their determination to boost the value of bilateral trade volume to USD 30 billion by 2015.

Iran is Turkey’s second biggest gas supplier after Russia. Turkey uses a significant portion of its imported Iranian natural gas to generate electricity.

Zarif and Erdogan also stressed that the two countries must reinforce their mutual positions on the crisis in Syria and take joint steps to help resolve the issue through diplomatic channels.

Syria has been gripped by deadly crisis since 2011.

The United Nations says more than four million Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country that has displaced millions so far.