Rouhani to pay his first Azerbaijan visit
By Sara Rajabova
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will pay his first visit to Azerbaijan in November.
Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen told Trend Agency on October 31 that the visit will take place in the next 20 days.
This will be Rouhani's first visit to Azerbaijan as Iran's president.
Pak Ayeen reminded that Rouhani and President Ilham Aliyev have met before several times, and discussed economic development between the two countries.
He also said Iran is interested in strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.
President Aliyev paid an official visit to Iran on April 9, 2014.
Tehran has in recent years focused seriously on development of ties with neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan which enjoys various commonalties with Iran in religious, historical and cultural fields.
Iran and Azerbaijan have had diplomatic relations since 1918. Iran recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran stood at $144.045 million in January-September 2014, according to the State Customs Committee (SCC) of Azerbaijan.
In nine months, goods worth $115.6 million were imported to Azerbaijan, and the goods exported from the country were worth $28.45 million.