Sanctions are working:Iran-Turkey trade exchanges hits $20 billion in 10 months

TEHRAN, Dec. 9 (MNA) -- The value of trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey has reached to 20 billion dollars in the past ten months of 2012.

According to IRNA, the value of bilateral trade between the two neighbors has increased more than 45 percent compared with the same period in the last year.

Turkey has exported more than 9.3 billion dollars worth of goods to Iran in the first ten months of 2012, while it imported around 10.5 billion dollars from the Islamic Republic in the mentioned period.

Iran and Turkey have sharply increased the level of their trade ties over the past years. In 2000, the level of bilateral trade stood at only around USD one billion, but in 2010, it exceeded USD 10 billion. The figure hit USD 16 billion last year.

The two sides seek to raise the value of their bilateral trade to USD 30 billion by 2015.

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has announced recently that the speed of trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey has accelerated and will soon reach the targeted goal of 30 billion dollars per year.