Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Baku and Tehran have discussed cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and other fields.

The discussions were held during a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Iranian delegation led by Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi on August 5.

During the meeting the head of state said relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are successfully developing.

President Aliyev recalled with pleasure his official visit to Iran and his meetings with the Iranian leaders, noting that the visit gave a new impetus to the expansion of the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Saying the two countries maintained good cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and other areas, the head of state expressed confidence that the issues to be discussed at the next meeting of the State Commission on Economic, Trade and Humanitarian Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran would contribute to the strengthening of this cooperation.

President Aliyev voiced hope that the Iranian delegation's visit to Azerbaijan would be a success.

Vaezi, in turn, extended greetings on behalf of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to President Aliyev, noting that President Rouhani recalled with pleasure his meetings with the Azerbaijani president in Davos and Tehran.

Vaezi paid tribute to national leader Heydar Aliyev, recalling his meetings with him during the previous visits to Azerbaijan.

Noting that Baku experienced unbelievable development and that he was deeply impressed by development processes in the country, Vaezi said: "I congratulate you as Azerbaijan has made great achievements. I would also like to congratulate the people of Azerbaijan as they have such a wise and far-sighted leader, who is doing great works for his country."

The parties further discussed prospects for the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran in various fields, including energy, transport, oil transportation, shipbuilding, trade, banking sector, science, and sport.

President Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the greetings of President Rouhani and asked Vaezi to communicate his greetings to the Iranian head of state.

Azerbaijan and Iran 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 $94.12 million in January-June 2014, according to Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee. Azerbaijan imported some $76.81 million worth of Iranian products, while the amount of export to this country totaled $17.31 million.

Iran's trade turnover with Azerbaijan stood at $470 million ($448 million exports and $22 million imports) in the first eleven months of 2013, Iran's customs administration's latest report shows.