Iranıan VP: "Tehrab will pull out all the stops for Turkish businesmen"

Tehran will eliminate all hurdles facing Turkish businessmen doing business in Iran, said Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi yesterday. Speaking at the Turkey-Iran Business Forum organized by Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) in Istanbul, Rahimi said that Tehran is eager to facilitate Turkish business operations in Iran. "We should support this," he explained at the forum, also attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "If you ever encounter a problem in Iran, please don't worry. We will remove all obstacles in line with our President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad's directives. We have no better friend than Turkey in today's world. Turkey indeed is a country of utmost importance for Iran's security, even economically." He added that both sides resolved during Erdogan's visit to Iran last year to boost the trade volume to $30 billion. Erdogan, for his part, said Ankara and Tehran should establish a free trade mechanism similar to the one between Turkey and the European Union. Erdogan added that the two countries should conclude talks on a preferential trade deal as soon as possible and that bilateral trade would reach the $30 billion target within five years.