Baku, Tehran express commitment to deepen bilateral ties
By Sara Rajabova
There is an Azerbaijani proverb saying 'A close neighbor is better than a distant relative'. This adage can be used to describe Azerbaijani-Iranian relations.
The two nations who lived side by side over centuries have a long history of close relations. A large number of Iranians live in Azerbaijan and about 30 million ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran. These are the basic reasons in minds of the two sides to further develop and strengthen bilateral relations.
Observers of cross-border politics believe that the high-level visits of two sides’ officials over the past few months have taken cooperation to a new level. These visits and the agreement signed between the two countries in recent times gave ground to open a new page in Azerbaijani-Iranian relations.
“Azerbaijan considers Iran as its close friend, and is trying its best to ensure the development of bilateral ties on all fronts,” Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov said in a meeting with co-chair of the Iranian-Azerbaijani joint intergovernmental economic, trade and humanitarian commission, Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.
The sides expressed dissatisfaction with the level of bilateral trade between the two countries, saying Baku and Tehran have enough economic and production potential to multiply trade.
Currently, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran is $500 million.
The Iranian officials have repeatedly invited the Azerbaijani businessmen to invest in various fields of the Islamic country’s economy. Iranian investors are also willing to invest in Azerbaijan’s projects.
Azerbaijan is also seen as a reliable partner for Iran in connecting the energy-rich country to Europe. As initiator of the Southern Gas Corridor, through which Azerbaijani gas will go to Europe, Baku is implementing a project of passing gas from new reserves to Europe. Iran with huge energy reserves can be one of these resources.
Furthermore, during the meeting with Vaezi, Azerbaijani Deputy Premier emphasized the necessity of building closer cooperation in the humanitarian area and in preventing illegal narcotics trafficking. Vaezi, in turn, welcomed Hasanov's proposal to discuss cooperation in preventing illegal drug trafficking and in humanitarian area, adding that the issues will be raised by the Iran-Azerbaijan joint intergovernmental economic, trade and humanitarian commission.
Given the urgency of the problem of controlling illicit trafficking, intensive work is underway in Azerbaijan to establish a legal basis for combating such crimes. Especially, Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia has turned into a regional center of drug production and trafficking, according to Azerbaijani officials.
Iran, which lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe as well as the Gulf states, also combats with drug trafficking. It cooperates with the neighboring countries in fight against drug combating.
Iranian officials thanked the stands adopted by Azerbaijan in dealing with economic sanctions imposed on Iran and appreciated the country's position towards Iran's nuclear program.
During the Azerbaijani deputy premier’s visit to Iran, the sides also focused on Azerbaijan’s most painful problem - the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani official has hailed Iran's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying it has always been objective. “It recognized our territorial integrity and has always supported our stance in international organizations,” Hasanov said.
Tehran has repeatedly offered to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Earlier, Iranian ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pak Ayeen said the peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the main goals of Iran's foreign policy.
Azerbaijani official also thanked the Iranian government for providing assistance to Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs. He hailed the efforts made by Iranian humanitarian organizations such as Iran Red Crescent Society and Imam Khomeini Relief Aid Committee for rendering humanitarian services in the past 20 years. Hasanov said Azerbaijan was committed to continuing its cooperation with the international humanitarian organizations.