Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Delivering the opening speech of the meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the importance of regional ownership and cooperation is indispensable in ensuring security, stability and prosperity in the region and said: “Therefore, Türkiye and Iran, as two major regional powers, should definitely advance their economic cooperation for prosperity, development and stability. With this understanding, we continue our determination to reach the 30 billion dollar trade target we have set with Iran in the past.”

Stating that bilateral trade between Türkiye and Iran, which reached approximately 22 billion dollars in 2012, has declined in recent years, Erdoğan continued his words as follows: “The main reason for this has been the sanctions imposed on Iran and the pandemic. Although the pandemic has been left behind, the trade-blocking effects of sanctions still continue. Essentially, as Türkiye, we maintain our principled stance here. We have always stated that we do not approve of unilateral sanctions and that resorting to such pressure tools does not serve the purpose. We have not ended our economic and trade relations with our neighbor Iran due to sanctions, and we will not do so in the future. Currently, sanctions are causing problems in our business relations with Iran, especially in the banking system. We hope that these and similar problems will be resolved in a short time.”

- “200 of our companies preferred to stay in Iran”

Erdoğan said that one of the most fundamental needs for the development of bilateral trade between Türkiye and Iran is the full implementation and further expansion of the content of the preferential trade agreement, including the 67 products excluded from its scope.

- Kopuz emphasizes that trade volume will increase further

In his speech at the Business Forum, TOBB Deputy Chairman Ali Kopuz gave information about the structure and activities of TOBB and emphasized that Türkiye and Iran are two neighbors with deep historical and cultural ties. Stating that the understanding achieved at the level of leaders in relations has created important cooperation opportunities for the business world, Kopuz said, “Our bilateral economic and trade relations have been negatively affected by sanctions and the pandemic. Nevertheless, in 2022 and 2023, our bilateral trade reached pre-pandemic levels. However, we are further away from the trade volume target set by our leaders. We think that the Preferential Trade Agreement between our countries is very important in reaching this target.”

Stating that Türkiye and Iran act jointly in international platforms and projects in the field of road transportation, Ali Kopuz said, “Therefore, the development of cooperation in the field of transportation will make a significant contribution to the trade of the two countries.”