Iran, Turkey to use nat\\\'l currencies

TEHRAN, Jan 1 (Xinhua): Iran and Turkey have agreed to use their national currencies in trade transactions, the visiting Turkish economy minister said, Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.

The arrangement, part of a preferential trade agreement concluded after 11 years of negotiations, starts on Thursday, Tasnim quoted Nihat Zeybekci as saying on Wednesday.

"With implementation of the agreement, we plan to increase the value of our bilateral trade transactions from the current US$16 billion to $30 billion," said Zeybekci, who met with Iranian Minister of Industries, Mines and Commerce Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh.

Iran, which boasts the world's largest natural gas reserves, is Turkey's second biggest gas supplier after Russia. Turkey uses a significant portion of its imported Iranian natural gas to generate electricity.

Turkey's main exports to Iran include machinery, motor vehicles, iron and steel products, and tobacco products. Crude oil and natural gas are Iran's major exports to Turkey.