Bilateral co-operation, increasing a stagnant trade, cutting un-necessary paper-work at the borders for both tourists and trucks and above all, the selling of Iranian natural gas to Turkey were among main subjects discussed Monday between visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Esmai’l Cem and the Iranian President Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami.

Mr. Cem had arrived Monday morning in Tehran, greeted by his Iranian counterpart, Mr. Kamal Kharrazi.
During the meeting, President Khatami also pointed to the "gigantic" project of transferring Iran's gas to Turkey, stressing that if developed, the project could provide the European countries with the Iranian gas.

Ankara also accuses Iran of providing support and training to Turkish extremist islamists who are accused of having assassinated several prominent Turkish secularist journalists and intellectuals.

For it’s part, Iran is angry at the free ride Turkey give the Iranian armed opposition Mujahedeen Khalq Organisation (MKO), that is based in Baghdad and supported by Iraq.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Cem termed as "very positive" his talks with his Iranian both the Iranian President and his counterpart Kharrazi and hoped that the exchange of delegations between Iran and Turkey would contribute to reinforcement of the bilateral ties which would preserve the two sides' interests, IRNA further said.

Considering the low-level of trade between Iran and Turkey, Cem came to Tehran accompanied by some Turkish businessmen who, according to Cem, show strong desire to bring their presence in Iran and said the cooperation between the private sectors of the tow states would widen the horizons for the Tehran-Ankara cooperation.

Speaking to journalists before his departure for Tehran, Mr. Cem noted that with gas imports from Iran beginning in July, the Turkey's total volume of imports from Iran would surpass one billion US Dollars.

At the same time, he hoped that in line with Turkey's increase of imports from Iran, it expects that Iran will grant certain facilities to the Turkish traders interested in gaining a foothold in the Iranian market.

He said that the Tehran-Istanbul rail link will begin to carry passengers, in addition to the current transport of cargo, in the near future.

On political side, the two ministers discussed security problem, tension in the Middle East, particularly the stalemated peace process, another issue of divergence between Iran and Turkey, as Tehran is adamantly opposed to peace process and Ankara is working on a peaceful solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But most important is the development in neighbouring Iraq, diplomatic sources said.

Turkey's State Statistics Organisation reported Wednesday that Iran-Turkey trade volume stood at US$ 888.018 million in the first 11 months of the year 2000, against 676.040 million over the same period in 1999, registering a US$ 202 million rise in 2000, IRNA reported.

In addition, the report stated that Turkey's imports from Iran was dlrs 680.248 million over the same period in 2000, or US$ 533.146 million higher than in 1999.

It added that the Turkey's exports to Iran stood at US$ 13.187 million and its imports from Iran stood at US$ 51.253 million in November 2000.

During their first meeting Monday, Mr. Cem and Mr. Kharrazi focussed on various aspects of bilateral cooperation and both agreed that currently the potentials for expansion of cooperation in various fields are enormously huge.