Turkey needs IranÕs energy and it also plans to transfer Iranian gas to Europe via a pipeline.

Iran and Turkey are striving to strengthen economic ties. To this end, they are pursuing a specific framework of capacities and expectations.
In recent months, there have been serious high-level talks and for that reason, one may conclude that a new chapter will soon emerge in Tehran-Ankara relations.
As things stand, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Turkey for extensive talks with Turkish interior and foreign ministers. The question is whether the recent visits and talks will be helpful in bringing Iran-Turkey relations on a new track?
A quick look at the past 30 years will serve as further proof that trade ties between the two neighbors have always been sustainable and that they have never been undermined even under the worst conditions and disputes. For Instance, Tehran-Ankara business ties never faltered during the Iraq-imposed war on Iran. Although at times relations were volatile under political circumstances, firm and vivid logic and diplomacy always prevailed, keeping communication and trade channels open. In this sense and others, the transfer of Iranian gas to Turkey has not only shifted the volume of trade balance in favor of Iran, but also it has become yet another link for steady economic ties.
Now the two neighbors are discussing ways to boost trade to $20 billion, of which Iran’s share will be $13 billion. Of course, gas exports will make the bulk of Iranian exports to Turkey. On the other hand, Turkey’s proximity to the European continent plus its growing economic strength could also breathe a new life into Economic Cooperation Organization, which could equally benefit Iran.
During the recent high-level talks, the goal has been to increase trade to $20 billion starting next year. Both parties have also underlined that this can be achieved in collaboration with private sectors of the two countries as well as by facilitating trade. More important though, they have agreed not to limit trade to their governments.
Iran-Turkey relations are not limited to trade. There are also grounds for further cooperation in such sectors as oil and gas, auto manufacturing, textile industry and even banking.
Iranian Minister of Commerce Masoud Mirkazemi had earlier said at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart that Tehran is prepared to boost banking connections, set up a joint bank, or even increase the number of branches. Also in other meetings, agreements were signed on trade and economic cooperation, customs, land, sea and air transport as well as avoiding double-taxation.
During a recent visit to Turkey Mottaki said that the trend of Iran-Turkey relations is fast moving ahead on the friendship track. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that bilateral relations between the two friendly neighbors will fall on a new track, particularly when they finalize the gas deal.
Turkey needs Iran’s energy and it also plans to transfer Iranian gas to Europe via the pipeline. In other words, Ankara considers Iran as a serious alternative when it comes to meeting part of its natural gas requirements.
Perhaps that explains why Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said that Iran-Turkey relations in political, economic and cultural fields have visibly experienced a boost in recent times and the upcoming visit to Turkey by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will certainly give new vigor to these relations.
He equally emphasized the importance of Iran-Turkey gas pipeline, adding that high on the agenda of the two nations has been and still is the finalization of the much anticipated energy deal.
Moreover, Ankara seeks to invest in Iran’s South Pars gas field and for this it has similarly held extensive talks with Iranian officials. Iranian oil officials are still reviewing the Turkish bid, in particular, assessing its financial and technical aspects.

For the first time in the county, a plan to provide unified airport handling services has been put into operation in Kish Airport.
Speaking in the inauguration ceremony, State Airports Company (SAC) managing director, Asqar Ketabchi said that the plan aims to cut costs, lift safety level and provide passengers with better services and facilities, according to Fars News Agency,
“The plan, if successful, will be implemented in other airports including Mehrabad, Mashhad and Shiraz,“ he noted.
Referring to a desirable level of cooperation between SAC and Kish Free Trade Zone Organization (KFZO), he said that a number of pilot plans will go into effect in Kish Airport.
Ketabchi referred to the absence of unified handling services as a weakness which led to a decline in safety indices and an increase in the costs of airport passengers nationwide.
The official said that Kish has great potentials and he hoped that the new KFZO management will act toward significant development of the region.

Shares of Mobarakeh Steel Complex worth three trillion rials have been transferred to exporters as incentives for 2005 and 2006, said head of Iran’s Privatization Organization.
The remaining shares will also be allocated to exporters once the cabinet approves the decision, Gholamreza Heidari-Kord Zangeneh underlined, ISNA reported.
As per cabinet ratification, he explained, shares of Mobarakeh Steel Complex worth over three trillion rials were earmarked for export incentives.
Asked about the shares to be transferred to exporters as incentives following Mobarakeh stocks, he said that only Mobarakeh Steel Complex has been considered for the purpose. The companies whose shares will be made available as incentives in 2007-2008 have not yet been determined, he added.
Shares of Mobarakeh Steel Complex are the most profitable in the atock market, he continued. Heidari-Kord Zanganeh elaborated that anyone who receives Mobarakeh shares, can sell them in the stock exchange. Since it has high value-added, he said, exporters can earn a profit by selling the shares.
Mobarakeh shares are given to exporters at market prices, the official pointed out. He concluded that those who have obtained the shares, can also collect profits for 2008.

Iran is the top carpet exporter in the world followed by India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Turkey.

Carpet production will rise by 10-15 percent by March 2009, disclosed deputy head of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC).
Mohammadreza Abed explained that many farmers have now become involved in carpet weaving due to drought and the drop in agricultural crop output.
He expected that production of hand-woven carpets will reach 5.1 million square meters by March.
Highlighting that close to five million square meters of carpet is produced annually nationwide, the official said that about 70-80 percent of domestically-produced carpets are exported bringing in hard currency revenues of $400 million per year.
Given that the export price for carpet has become more real, Abed predicted that earnings from carpet exports will rise by $600-$700 million annually.
He recalled that the base price for carpet was meager until February 2008. However, it has gone up since then, he added.
The price rise will influence revenues from carpet exports in the year to March 2009, the carpet expert assured.
On the share of hand-woven carpets in the country’s non-oil exports, the official said that carpet usually accounts for 7-10 percent of the entire non-oil exports.
Abed pointed out that there are over one million carpet weavers across the country, 50 percent of whom are involved full-time in the craft. The remaining 50 percent weave carpets on a seasonal basis or during their leisure time, he added.
Iran is the top carpet exporter in the world followed by India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Turkey.
Pointing to the imitation of some carpet-producing countries of Iranian carpet brands and designs, he said that INCC has placed some preventive measures on its agenda to stop such wrongdoings.
He referred to Lisbon Agreement which aims to protect the appellations of origin, that is, the ’geographical name of a country, region, or locality, which serves to designate a product originating therein as well as its quality and characteristics, including natural or human factors, which exclusively or essentially belong to a geographic area’.
Iran officially acceded to the Lisbon Agreement for the protection of applications of origins and their international registration in November 2006.
Abed elaborated that INCC aims to register carpets woven in various regions of the country under this agreement to prevent other countries from producing or copying them using their trademark.
“In the initial stage, we will register the features of carpets pertaining to different geographical parts of the country with the assistance of the State Organization for Deeds and Property Registration. Then we will register them on the national heritage list.“
Finally, their global registration in Lisbon Agreement will become possible, he added.
The official underlined that the process of registering Iranian carpets on the national heritage list has begun. The administrative bill for this was approved in the year to March 2008, he pointed out.
Currently, the organization has registered Isfahan carpet on the national heritage list, Abed said. Carpets belonging to other regions will similarly be registered on the list and then they will be registered globally.
At present, many leading carpet-producing nations copy Iranian designs, he said, noting that they also put the name of Iranian regions on their products.
“For example, they call them by names such as ’India’s Kashan’ carpet or ’Sino Kashan’ carpet. They encourage the customers to buy their products through such measures,“ the official regretted.
On the role of global registration in preventing the imitation of Iranian brands and designs, he said that many carpet-importing countries, particularly the Arab countries, are members of Lisbon Agreement. So, they will abide by the agreement.
Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Kerman, Hamedan, Isfahan, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Ardebil and Kurdestan provinces are the major carpet weaving centers of Iran, he concluded.
Earlier, Abed disclosed a plan to establish carpet-weaving townships nationwide. Speaking to IRNA, he added the first township will be established in Tehran as a model for other townships.“ Townships will be established in industrial cities, in which carpet weaving is not as common as in rural areas,“ Abed pointed out.
He also said that INCC is ready to launch carpet stock market.
“The private sector is currently pursuing the establishment of a carpet bourse on Kish island,“ Abed noted.

Iran and Switzerland reviewed economic and trade relations on Friday in a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister for Europe Mehdi Safari and Swiss Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Michael AmbŸhl in Berne.
At the meeting which was held at the Iranian Embassy, Safari referred to the potentials for future bilateral ties and stated, “We hope to witness a boost in relations via cooperation in the private sectors.“
AmbŸhl, for his part. noted that with the initiation of the Iran to Europe gas transfer project relations between the two countries will step into a new stage, reported Mehr News Agency.
“Of course, we are currently witnessing a growth in bilateral ties, but I’m sure this will become stronger with the gas transfer project,“ he added.
Both officials also discussed international and regional issues such as those pertaining to Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine.

Deputy minister of industries and mines has announced that value added tax (VAT) will replace sales tax from autumn.
By replacing sales tax on the total value of goods and services with VAT, multiple tax collection on a variety of goods in different stages of production will be eliminated, Ali Asghar Ramzi told Presstv.
Based on the current sales tax on the total value, each production unit pays a three-percent sales tax on goods or services sold, of which two percent goes to the national government and one percent in local tax to the municipal government thus raising the sale price of goods.
With the implementation of VAT, the two percent tax collected by the national government on the total value of goods will be eliminated, the official said.
Value added tax is imposed on exchange of goods and services. A VAT is a type of national sales tax. However, it is imposed on the ’value added’ of the goods or services at each stage of the production process.
VAT differs from a sales tax since it is levied only once on the total value of the exchange.