Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced on Thursday that the central banks of Turkey and Iran had formally agreed to trade in their local currencies, Reuters reported.
Speaking during a joint press conference in Ankara with visiting Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, Yıldırım said a deal between the two countries would allow the Iranian rial and Turkish lira be easily converted, in a bid to increase the bilateral trade volume and help reduce the cost of currency conversion and transfer for traders. The countries have until now used euros.
Yıldırım said: “Trading in local currencies is the most significant step to improving economic ties. The central banks of both countries have agreed, and they will inform other banks as to the implementation.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier in October such a deal aimed to raise the Turkish-Iranian trade volume to $30 billion from the current $10 billion.