Vice President: Iran-Turkey Trade Transactions To Boost

Ankara, June 30, IRNA – Visiting Iran's Vice President for International Affairs Ali Saeedlou said here on Saturday that Iran-Turkey economic and commercial cooperation will be bolstered in the near future. Talking to IRNA, Saeedlou described his visit to Turkey as fruitful and constructive. He said he extended President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's invitation to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to attend the NAM summit due this summer in the Iranian capital. Saeedlou said Tehran-Ankara trade transactions hit $16 billion last year, predicting the figure would reach $22 billion this year. Iran will host the 16th summit of the NAM member states between August 26 and 31. The Islamic Republic will assume the rotating presidency of the movement for three years during the Tehran summit. NAM, an international organization with 120 member states and 17 observer countries, is considered as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The organization was founded in the former Yugoslavia in 1961. Member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the UN members and contain 55% of the world population. NAM's purpose, as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979, is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries.”/end