TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Turkey signed 8 cooperation agreements on Saturday in a bid to broaden bilateral ties

IFIF Public Relations-The agreements were signed in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tiyyip Erdogan in Ankara today

Under the deals, Iran and Turkey agreed to cooperate in social security matters, fight against goods smuggling, including antiquities, food and agriculture, legal and academic affairs, industrial standard and technical research, standardization, justice and judicial training

During the signing ceremony, Erdogan said Iran and Turkey are required to promote their bilateral economic relations which have declined in past few years

He said there are some limitations in the relations between Tehran and Ankara, adding that those restrictions must be removed

The Turkish president added that terrorism and sectarianism are the biggest challenges in the region

Erdogan added that there are some differences of opinion between Iran and Turkey on regional issues, adding, however, that the two sides seek an end to the bloodshed in Iraq and Syria

Rouhani, for his part, said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must follow two key objectives, namely unity in the world of Islam and the realization of the rights of Palestinians, adding that Iran will stand by the Muslim body as long as it maintains these two issues as its main goals

Rouhani attended the 13th OIC summit in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday and Friday

He said the negotiations between him and Erdogan focused on promoting the role of women in the Islamic community, combating extremism, violence and terrorism, and promoting unity in the Muslim world and bridging the gap between Muslim faiths

Rouhani also said Iran and Turkey need to remove the obstacles in the way of the expansion of bilateral ties, adding that Tehran can help Turkey meet its energy needs

He said Iran and Turkey should help regional countries like Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan resolve their problems, warning, however, that no foreign power should be allowed to make decisions on regional issues

Elswhere, the Iranian president said Islamophobia is a plot hatched by the Zionist regime, adding that Iran and Turkey can introduce true Islam to world to counter the move

The Iranian president met Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu earlier on Saturday in Istanbul. The two sides stressed the importance of fighting terrorism as a common threat to all regional countries and the entire world