Before departing for Ankara at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president called Türkiye an important economic and trade partner.

Raeisi added the 8th meeting of Iran-Türkiye High-Level Cooperation Council will be held in the Turkish capital to discuss bilateral relations, particularly in the economic and commercial fields.

Important documents will be signed, mentioned the president, underlining that it shows the two countries’ willingness for developing their economic and commercial ties.

The expansion of ties with Türkiye is in tandem with Iran’s policy on good neighborliness and relations with Muslim countries, he pointed out.

Pointing to the membership of Iran and Türkiye in regional and international organizations, including the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Raeisi expressed hope that his visit to Ankara will result in promoting bilateral cooperation in the region and beyond.

The Iranian president said important regional developments will be among the topics he will discuss with his Turkish counterpart and officials, adding Tehran and Ankara have a common stance on the Palestinian cause, supporting the Palestinian people.

Great efforts have been made to stop the bombardments of Gaza, said Raeisi, regretting that Palestinian people, particularly women and children are being still killed due to the support of the United States and Western countries for the Zionist regime.

Raeisi was to start his visit to Türkiye in early January but canceled the trip as scores of Iranian people were martyred in the twin terrorist attacks in Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran.

Oil, gas talks

Earlier, Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji arrived in Türkiye to discuss the expansion of energy ties between the two countries.

Owji held talks with Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye Alparslan Bayraktar, discussing the extension of the contract on exports of Iran’s gas to its neighboring state, exports of Iran’s oil and petrochemical products as well as technical and engineering services, and Turkish companies’ investment in Iran’s oil industry.