Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) A Turkish parliamentary delegation headed by AKP MP and foreign relations committee chairman Murat Mercan met with a number of senior Iranian officials here in Tehran this week.
The Turkish legislators met on Monday with Alaoddin Buroujerdi, head of Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee and Ali Akbar Aghayee, chairman of Turkish-Iranian parliamentary friendship group.
On Wednesday, the delegation met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel and with former President and head of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
During the meeting with the Turkish delegation, Foreign Minister Mottaki underlined the important role of the two countries in the establishment of peace and security in war-battered Iraq, adding that both countries shared common views in this regard.
Mottaki added, “A powerful and modern Turkey is in Iran’s interest. The current level of economic cooperation between Tehran and Ankara is unprecedented in the history of the two countries’ relations. The extended cooperation in oil and gas industry can serve as a model for expansion of relations in other fields as well.”
AKP MP Mercan described Iran and Turkey as the most significant regional powers.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Haddad Adel said that Iran and Turkey, as two powerful countries in the region and in the Islamic world, have a common responsibility about the fate of all Muslims – especially in Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
He said that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq has fueled terrorist acts in the country and this would require further cooperation between the two countries to reverse the situation.
For his part, Mercan said that cooperation between Iran and Turkey on developments in Iraq would help regional peace and security.
Iran-Turkey relations have significantly improved during the AKP rule.
