TEHRAN: Iranian and Turkish customs authorities agreed upon eight key issues on Monday. Agreements reached between the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Foroud Asgari and his Turkish counterpart, Cenap Asci, in Ankara include round-the-clock operation of Bazergan-Gurbulak Customs gates, online sharing of X-ray information and a joint fight against drug trafficking. With the closure of the Turkish-Iraqi Kurdistan borders, Turkish trucks will go to Iraq via Iran, Mehr News Agency reported. Iran will facilitate the transit of Turkish products heading to Qatar and Turkish consulates will not require the certificate of origin for Iranian products. The two neighboring countries also pledged to work in collaboration to revive the Silk Road and exchange information on import/export declarations within the framework of a “virtual joint gateway”.
Iran exported $4.5 billion worth of goods to Turkey during the seven months ending July 2017, registering an 80% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year, Tasnim News Agency cited the Turkish Statistical Institute as reporting. Imports from the neighboring country over the same period amounted to $1.8 billion, indicating a 37% fall year-on-year. Iran-Turkey trade stood at $6.3 billion over the seven-month period, showing a 16% rise YOY. Iran and Turkey are signatories to a preferential agreement that was signed in January 2014 and took effect a year later.
