Azernews.Az

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Azerbaijan will pave the way for closer cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has told a press conference in Tehran, Press TV channel reported.

President Ahmadinejad arrived in Azerbaijan on Monday to participate in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, which begins in the capital Baku on Tuesday.

On the eve of the summit, Baku hosted a meeting of the ECO Council of Foreign Ministers, which discussed the agenda of a meeting between the member states' leaders.

ECO foreign ministers have worked on the draft Baku Declaration, which will be adopted at the end of the high-level meeting.

The Economic Cooperation Organization is a regional intergovernmental economic body established in 1985 by the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East and is the successor of the Regional Cooperation for Development, which acted on the basis of the Charter -- the Izmir Treaty, signed by three founding countries -- Iran, Pakistan and Turkey -- on March 12, 1977.

Mehmanparast said holding such a summit is important for all the regional countries, as it gives a new incentive to the cooperation between the member nations.

"This summit provides good opportunities for expanding cooperation. Iran-Azerbaijan relations are very good, and they have potential to develop and strengthen in all fields," Mehmanparast said.

"Some forces are trying to cause tensions between the regional states, however, all such attempts are doomed to fail," he added.