Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday that his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif will pay an official visit to Turkey next week to discuss regional issues with the country’s senior officials.
Davutoglu announced the news following a Friday meeting with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari during which the two sides exchanged views on regional developments, particularly the Syrian crisis which Turkey, togther with some other regional countries, has helped fuel.
He went on to say that Turkey will continue its contacts with neighboring and regional countries to find solutions for regional issues.
Zarif and Davutoglu met on the sidelines of the 68th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23.
The two foreign ministers extensively discussed the ongoing conflict in Syria and the latest developments in Iraq.
They also talked about the latest status of Iran’s nuclear talks with the six major world powers -- the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany.
The officials also explored avenues for further enhancement of bilateral relations between Tehran and Ankara.
Iran, which owns the world’s largest natural gas reserves, is Turkey’s second biggest gas supplier after Russia. Turkey uses a significant portion of its imported Iranian natural gas to generate electricity.
The volume of Iran-Turkey annual trade exchanges reached roughly USD16 billion in 2011, and soared past USD22 billion by the end of 2012.