TTSO President Hacısalihoğlu: 'Trabzon Tabriz Railway Connection is Very Important'

TRABZON, TTSO – Iran Islamic Republic Trabzon Consul General Hossein Saberi visited Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TTSO) President M. Suat Hacısalihoğlu.

“WE ARE PLANNING A SPECIAL EVENT FOR NEWRUZ IN MARCH IF THE PANDEMIC CONDITIONS PERMIT”

TTSO President M. Suat Hacısalihoğlu stated that Trabzon and Iran have deep-rooted relations for a long time and said, “We see Iran very close to ourselves, like a city of ours. Due to the pandemic, our relations have decreased a little. Collaboration meetings and talks were going well before the pandemic. There are Iranian businessmen in Trabzon. If the pandemic conditions allow in Turkey, we are planning to hold a nice event in Nevruz in March. In previous years, we used to organize shopping days for Iranians who came to our country for Nowruz. We want to repeat this in 2021," he said.

“RAILWAY CONNECTION IS VERY IMPORTANT”

M. Suat Hacısalihoğlu, President of TTSO, said, “We want to do more comprehensive trade on both sides. When we look at the old photos, we see that the phrase 'Tabriz Logistics Zone' is used for Trabzon. So Trabzon – Tabriz was a good logistics line. Our expectation is the realization of the Trabzon - Gümüşhane - Erzincan railway and the Iran - Nakhchivan railway connection. If this connection is realized, the Black Sea - Persian Gulf connection will be established and an important line will be formed in the regional trade. Coming to Trabzon means transporting your goods to Northern Europe. We would like to continue our cooperation from now on. We need to force the post-pandemic mobility. In the past, Iranian artists used to hold exhibitions in Trabzon. There was also a cultural relationship. We look forward to the reopening of these exhibitions.”

During the meeting, which was attended by TTSO board members and Iranian Consulate General officials, the Iranian delegation was given detailed information about Trabzon's trade and industry, and a film about the branches of industry was watched.

Consul General Hossein Saberi, on the other hand, stated that the pandemic paused the relations and said, “We hope that with the normalization from now on, all commercial relations, especially Turkey-Iran, will return to their old days. Despite the restrictions, I find it important for the future that the businessmen of the two countries start negotiations. This connection should begin to be established. We welcome Turkish businessmen to invest in Iran. Economic relations should be strengthened. In parallel with this, I believe that tourism and cultural activities will increase," he said.