Tehran – Iran's Minister of Agriculture Gholamreza Nouri returned home on Friday evening following a five-day official visit to Türkiye and Kyrgyzstan, during which he held high-level discussions on expanding agricultural trade, streamlining border transit, and strengthening regional food security.

 

Nouri departed for Ankara on Monday for talks with his Turkish counterpart and meetings with Turkish traders and agricultural sector stakeholders.

He returned via land border crossing on Friday evening (April 17), where he was bid farewell by Iğdır Governor Mustafa Fırat Taşolar.

 

During his meeting with Governor Taşolar, the Iranian minsiter underscored the need to enhance cooperation between Iranian and Turkish provinces and border terminals. "Strengthening border markets and facilitating trade at shared crossings will not only drive economic development, create jobs, and improve social security in border regions but will also contribute to international trade and regional food security," Nouri said.

 

Governor Taşolar, in turn, stressed the importance of developing and streamlining trade cooperation along the Turkey-Iran border. "Agricultural and food commodity exchanges, along with trade in essential goods, remain a top priority for border terminals. We will make every effort to facilitate the flow of traffic and transportation through Iğdır," he stated.

 

Upon his arrival in Turkey earlier in the week, Nouri had outlined the main goals of his visit: increasing the volume of agricultural trade, easing transportation logistics, and simplifying customs procedures at the shared border.

 

After returning to Iran, the minister conducted an on-site inspection of the Bazargan border terminal, reviewing current cargo exchange and transit operations at the crossing.

 

Referring to the outcomes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Nouri noted that more than 40 percent of the world's population resides in SCO member states. "In Bishkek, I met with my counterparts from 12 participating countries and organizations. All of them condemned the recent actions of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran and expressed deep concern over the negative impact of these actions on regional and global food security," he said.

 

The minister highlighted that the primary goals of his tour to Turkey and Kyrgyzstan included: Expanding trade and economic relations through agricultural diplomacy; Exploring ways to enhance transit cooperation for essential goods; Holding bilateral talks with counterparts at the SCO summit; and Assessing regional developments and their implications for food security worldwide.