TEHRAN Jan 29 (Shana): Iran's Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says oil and energy are the most important areas of cooperation between Iran and Turkey.
He made the remarks while speaking for an Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Energy Committee as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Iran.
Erdogan arrived in Tehran at the head of a high-ranking delegation to discuss key bilateral and regional issues with senior Iranian officials.
Erdogan is going to hold talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian officials during the two-day visit.
The Turkish premier is accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci.
According to reports, Iran and Turkey will probably sign a high-level strategic cooperation agreement during the Turkish premier's trip to Tehran, which is his first visit to the Islamic Republic after Rouhani won the presidential election in June 2013.
The Turkish-Iranian Economic Committee is also set to hold a meeting during Erodgan's visit, ending a two-year halt.
In a statement before leaving Turkey, Erdogan hoped his visit would create a suitable atmosphere for increasing the trade exchange to $30 billion by 2015, from $13 billion last year.
Earlier in January, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey and met with Erdogan and Davutoglu.
During the meeting between the Iranian foreign minister and Turkish premier, Tehran and Ankara underlined their determination to boost the value of bilateral trade volume to $30 billion by 2015.
Iran is Turkey's second biggest gas supplier after Russia.
Turkey uses a significant portion of its imported Iranian natural gas to generate electricity.
By SHANA
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