Iran participating in international transportation conference in Istanbul

Iranian Minister of Road and Urbanization Abbas Akhoundi and his accompanying delegation are participating in the 11th International Conference of Transportation Ministers in Istanbul, Turkey. Akhoundi arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday evening to attend the conference. The 11th International Conference of Transportation Ministers kicked off on Thursday and will continue until Friday. In the conference, 16 ministers and six deputy ministers will discuss different issues in the sector of transportation. Akhoundi is scheduled to meet with Turkey’s Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Binali Yildirim on the sidelines of the conference to discuss bilateral issues. Iran and Turkey have recently expanded their bilateral relations, especially in trade and energy fields. Trade between Turkey and Iran has risen sharply over the past decade. Iran-Turkey trade value exceeded $22bln in 2012. Also, Turkey was Iran's fifth-largest oil customer in 2011, buying around 200,000 barrels per day, 30 percent of its total imports and more than 7 percent of Iran's oil exports. The two countries officials stressed the necessity for stronger relations and pursuing the planned increase of mutual trade to $30bln by 2015.