Iranian FM says Turkey ready to invest 10 bln dollars in Iran

These contracts set a target of approximately $10 billion for economic exchanges between Iran and Turkey, which has now been achieved, the Persian service of PIN quoted Mottaki as saying.�

Mottaki who paid a visit last week to Turkey said bilateral economic relations and contracts that set a target of approximately $10 billion for economic exchanges between Iran and Turkey currently being implemented were discussed during his recent trip.

“Turkey has said it is interested in investing up to $10 billion in Iran, $4 billion of which would be invested in electricity (generation) and $6 billion in prospecting for gas and the Iran-Europe gas pipeline,” PIN quoted Mottaki as saying.

The prospects for Iran-Turkey economic relations as positive, he said adding that a Turkish company “intends to buy the Razi Petrochemical Complex through the (Tehran) stock exchange, which shows foreign companies’ readiness to enter Iran’s capital market.”

Last year, then  Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler and his counterpart Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh signed an agreement according to which Iranian gas would be transferred through Turkey to Europe and Turkey would invest in Iran’s South Pars gas field project.

Turkey plays the negotiator role to help to resolve the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program. Regarding this process Mottaki visited and held talks with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan last week.