TEHRAN: Turkish exports to Iran from January to November 2016 increased by more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year, recent data published by the Turkish Statistical Institute showed. The total value of Turkish exports to the Islamic Republic in the first 11 months of 2016 reached $4.635 billion, showing a 41 percent growth compared to the same period in 2015, the report said. This is while bilateral trade between the two countries from January to November 2016 decreased by 1.6 percent, compared to a year earlier. The value of bilateral trade in the 11-month period amounted to $8.798bln, while the figure in 2015 stood at $8.948bln, according to the data.
Iran was the 9th country among biggest importers of Turkish goods and the 10th among those supplying the country’s import needs during the first 11 months of 2016. In April last year, Iran and Turkey signed eight memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas. The cooperation documents were signed in a ceremony in Ankara on April 16, attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyib Erdogan. The documents covered a range of fields, including higher education, social security, plant maintenance services and standardization. Iran and Turkey have ramped up efforts in recent months to boost bilateral trade after implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany). The deal took effect on January 16, 2016, terminating all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.
