Tasnim� Iran�s Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian highlighted the importance of enhanced bilateral ties between Tehran and Ankara in diverse fields.

Speaking in a ceremony held in Ankara on Saturday to pay tribute to former Turkish prime minister late Necmettin Erbakan, Taherian said expansion of mutual ties between Iran and Turkey in all arenas, including politics, economy and culture, was among the top priorities of Erbakan.

Erbakan was a Turkish politician, engineer, and academic who was the prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. Erbakan died on 27 February 2011 of heart failure at Guven Hospital in Ankara.

The Iranian envoy hailed the efforts by Erbakan to boost Turkey�s ties with its Muslim neighbors, Iran in particular, and said, �That is why he supported the idea of establishing the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation�.

The late Turkish premier believed that the D-8 bloc could promote relations between Muslim nations, he added.

Taherian further expressed the hope that the two neighboring countries can develop their mutual cooperation at the regional and international level as well.

Established in 1996, the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for development cooperation among the member states

Iran, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Bangladesh and Indonesia are the D8 members.