ANKARA - Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Iranian Deputy Minister of Petroleum and President of National Petrochemical Co (NPC), said on Thursday that they had to decide whether they would apply for Petkim (petrochemicals) that would be privatized, adding that if they decided to apply they wanted to make this with Turkish firms.
Nematzadeh who was in Turkey for an official visit met with the Union of Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges in Turkey (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu.
Nematzadeh told reporters prior to the meeting that Iran ranked the second in petroleum production in the world and they were working for increasing investments on that field.
Noting that Turkey also needed petrochemical products, Nematzadeh said that they had meetings with Turkish businessmen for providing raw material for investments.
Emphasizing that Iran made big investments in petrochemical industry and productions would be put on the market in 2004, Nematzadeh said that they aimed to open an office in Turkey for this and to work for usage of raw materials.
When asked whether they would have a proposal for Petkim together with HEMA Disli company, Nematzadeh said that they had to decide whether they would apply for Petkim, adding that if it happened, they wanted to make this with firms in Turkey.
Hisarciklioglu said that Turkey and Iran had rooted relations and it was necessary to develop economic relations to settle those relations on sound basis.
Noting that Turkey's taking a part of its energy via Iran was appropriate for energy diversity, Hisarciklioglu said that they, as Turkish businessmen, were pleased to take natural gas from Iran.
(GC-AÖ) 04.12.2003