Tasnim – The governor-general of Iran’s northwestern province of West Azerbaijan announced that two border checkpoints are planned to be set up along the province’s border with Turkey.

In remarks released on Monday, Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari pointed to agreements reached in a recent trip to Turkey by a delegation headed by Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and said the interior minister and his Turkish counterpart held talks about ways to tap all capacities of the common borders.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed to establish a joint committee to rapidly examine the issue of opening two border checkpoints and two border markets in Kuzehrash and Buralan in West Azerbaijan Province, he noted.

The official added that the agreement will be implemented once the committee approves the plan and releases its specialized report.

Iran and Turkey have ramped up efforts in recent years to boost bilateral trade, setting a $30-billion annual trade target and signing several agreements to enhance cooperation in various areas.

Turkey is one of Iran’s major trading partners in the region which has come under pressure from Washington to stop working with Tehran under a fresh wave of US anti-Iran sanctions.

Turkey has emphasized that the US demands to stop purchasing oil and gas from Iran would go unheeded by Ankara.