Turkey, Iran set to use national currencies in bilateral trade

TEHRAN

Turkey and Iran have agreed to use national currencies in trade in a bid to ease the parity risks over their bilateral trade, the leaders of both countries announced on Oct. 4.

At a joint news conference in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the goal of raising Turkish-Iranian trade volume to $30 billion from $10 billion remains on the agenda, adding that some decisions were made to reach this target.

“Iran and Turkey agreed on the use of national currency in bilateral trade to ease foreign currency risks on the road to increasing trade volume,” he said.

He also added that the officials from both countries’ central banks would next meet to finalize the steps to be taken in this key field, while also adding Turkey was interested in opening Turkish banks in Iran.

Rouhani said three customs gates between Turkey and Iran would work for 24 hours.

“Two customs gates will work 24 hours a day by tomorrow. As soon as technical and construction issues are resolved in the third gate, it will also start to work 24 hours a day,” he noted.