President Lauds Iran-Turkey Strategic Cooperation Council Meeting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the first session of Iran-Turkey Strategic High Cooperation Council as a “milestone” in relations between Tehran and Ankara.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Monday, President Rouhani said the high-profile council heralds “rapid enhancement of relations between the two countries in all fields.”
On Monday, Iran and Turkey for the first time held a high joint commission during President Rouhani’s visit to Turkey. Rouhani and his entourage arrived in Ankara on Monday for an official visit at the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
Elsewhere in the press conference, President Rouhani underlined that the Strategic Cooperation Council will pave the way for achievement of the goals the two countries have set for their relations by 2015, namely an annual trade exchange of 30 billion dollars.
The Iranian chief executive also pointed to the effective role that Tehran and Ankara can play in countering terrorism, and added, “The two regional powerful countries believe in and are determined for cooperation in this field.”
Rouhani stressed that both Iran and Turkey favor a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction.
Erdogan, for his part, voiced Turkey’s willingness to enhance economic ties with Iran, saying, “We have good age-old relations.”
Rouhani is the first Iranian head of state to visit Turkey in 18 years. Several cabinet members, including the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Road and Urban Development, Oil, Communication and Information Technology, Interior, Culture and Islamic Guidance and Economy accompany President Rouhani in the visit to Turkey.
