Azerbaijan, Iran discusses future co-op
By Nigar Orujova
Political, economic and humanitarian relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are on the rise, the co-chairman of the Azerbaijani-Iranian state commission on cooperation in economic, trade and humanitarian spheres, Shahin Mustafayev said on December 2.
This was said at a meeting with Iran’s Communications and Information Technology Minister of Mahmoud Vaezi in Baku.
Economy and Industry Minister Mustafayev noted that the number of mutual visits of Azerbaijani and Iranian businessmen increased recently.
In turn, Vaezi said Azerbaijan and Iran have great potential for further development of cooperation.
The sides also discussed the current state of economic relations between the two countries, as well as the prospects for expanding cooperation in the fields of transport, industry, energy, alternative energy and livestock.
During his visit to Azerbaijan, Vaezi also met with Emergency Situations Minister Kamaladdin Heydarov.
Heydarov hailed the prevention and elimination of emergency situations in the country and the works done in this field and discussed the prospects for cooperation with the relevant authorities of Iran.
He noted that the mutual visits of President Ilham Aliyev and President Hassan Rouhani and signed documents form the foundation for a new era in strengthening bilateral relations.
Vaezi stressed significance of developing mutually beneficial
cooperation between the relevant agencies of the two countries.
The sides had comprehensive exchange of views on a number of other
issues of mutual interest.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran in January-October amounted to $144.045 million dollars, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. In this period, Azerbaijan imported goods worth $115.6 million, and the goods exported by the country amounted to $28.45 million.
During his November visit to Baku, Vaezi said Iran and Azerbaijan have great capacities to boost trade turnover to $10 billion.
Azerbaijan and Iran signed five agreements during the official visit of an Iranian delegation headed by President Hassan Rouhani to Baku in November.
The relations between neighboring countries, Azerbaijan and Iran, with a long history of bilateral ties and cooperation have recently risen to a new level.