Turkish PM to meet Iranian leaders on bilateral, regional issues

ANKARA, March 4 (KUNA) -- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Friday he is going to discuss with Iranian leaders the bilateral ties and regional issues with emphasis on the situations in Syria and Iraq.
Speaking to reporters ahead of leaving for Tehran on an official visit, he said the deeply-rooted relationship between Ankara and Tehran grew remarkably in the last 13 years.
The Turkish and Iranian economies are highly complementary, Davutoglu said, welcoming the lifting of the international sanctions on Iran after the nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1.
The Turkish-Iranian ties are very important to the Middle East which undergoes challenging conditions although the viewpoints of the two countries are different at present, he pointed out.
On the bilateral trade volume, he said it hit USD 10 billion, voicing hope to take the figure to USD 30 billion in the coming years.
The topics on the agenda of the visit include the prospects of cooperation in the energy field given the fact that Iran is one of Turkey's main sources of energy and Turkey is the gateway of Iran's energy exports to Europe, he added.
Davutoglu is scheduled to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Foreign Minister Mohmmad Javad Zarif. (end) rs.gb