Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Romania is keen to deepen cooperation with Iran in economic and political grounds. Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu believes that cooperation between the two countries can contribute to the regional stability and security.

“We need to make efforts in order to establish stability in the region,” he told reporters during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran.

The Romanian delegation headed by Comanescu embarked on a visit to Iran on February 29.

Speaking about the economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic, the Romanian minister vowed to lay the ground for holding a session of a joint economic commission of Iran and Romania in Bucharest.

Earlier Iran and Romania announced their plans to organize a joint economic commission, which will be tasked with developing a road map for the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Comanescu believes that the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers has paved the way for cooperation and the expansion of bilateral ties between Tehran and Bucharest.

“We want to resume bilateral ties,” he concluded.

Iran and Romania enjoy fruitful conditions to cooperate in various fields, in particular in transport, agricultural, energy and tourism.

In his remarks, Zarif said Iran and Romania enjoy proper and traditional ties, but the international sanctions had a negative impact on these relations over the past several years.

“Today the leaders of the both nations have political will for the expansion of ties,” he added.

Pointing to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Iran and Romania on cooperation in the political, economic and cultural fields, Zarif said Tehran and Bucharest have agreed to hold regular political consultation sessions at deputy ministerial levels.

He also called for cooperation in maritime transport, energy sector, banking, industrial sector, automotive industry, agricultural and tourism.

“I am sure that the minister’s Tehran visit will lead to the resuming of close ties between Iran and Romania,” Zarif concluded.

North-South corridor

Iran believes that Romania will have a chance to enjoy benefits of the North-South transport corridor after this giant project is completed.

The Islamic Republic's President Hassan Rouhani said at a meeting with Comanescuin that development of rail corridors is of significant importance for Iran, Tasnim news agency reported.

Thus, after connecting Iran’s railway to Azerbaijan, Romania can play a key role in boosting economic ties through the rail corridor, he added.

Comanescu, in turn, underscored his country's policy to strengthen cooperation with Iran in diplomacy, economy, culture, science and technology.

The North-South corridor is intended to connect Northern Europe to Southeastern Asia. In February, Rouhani said the railways of Iran and Azerbaijan will be connected by the end of 2016.

The railway between Azerbaijan and Iran, which is a part of the North-South transport corridor, will contribute to economic development of Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as multiplying of goods turnover from such Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf, like Bandar Abbas, Busheher, and Chabahar.

Furthermore, northern provinces of Iran, like Western Azerbaijan, Eastern Azerbaijan, Gilan, Qazvin will manage to deliver their products to the world markets, particularly, Northern Europe, Russia, Pakistan, India, as well as Persian Gulf countries in a short period of time.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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