Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani and Iranian border guards will jointly fight against smuggling and illegal border crossing.

A number of memoranda of understanding were signed in Tehran at the eighth meeting between the Iranian border guards and the Azerbaijani State Border Service, Mehr news agency reported.

The documents were signed by Colonel-General Elchin Guliyev, the Chief of Azerbaijan’s State Border Service, and Major-General Qassem Rezaei, the commander of the Iranian border guards.

Rezaei said the meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart discussed the prevention of smuggling, illegal border crossing and other border-related issues.

He added that the parties agreed to hold such meetings in the cities located near the border zone.

Rezaei also noted that the Iranian-Azerbaijani border is the most secure.

Guliyev also met with Ismail Ahmadi Mugaddam, the commander of the police forces of Iran and discussed a number of issues.

During the meeting, Mugaddam stressed the importance of the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking for both countries.

Iran, which lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe as well as the Gulf states, has fought against drug trafficking. It cooperates with neighboring countries in cracking down on drug smugglers.

Commenting on the results of the meeting of the heads of border services of Azerbaijan and Iran, Major General, Farhad Taghizade, Deputy Chief of the Azerbaijani State Border Service said a number of meetings between the heads of the Azerbaijani and Iranian border services are scheduled to be held in 2015.

Taghizade told Trend that during the meeting both sides discussed the situation in the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, covering all aspects -- results of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran border services, on-going work and arising issues.

“Usually, protocol, which refers to the results of the negotiations, shall be signed at such meetings. The parties put forward their proposals for bilateral cooperation. These proposals relate to the expansion of bilateral cooperation and how to increase its effectiveness. We will work on them,” he said.

He also stressed that the border services between Azerbaijan and Iran plan to further expand bilateral cooperation in the future.

Azerbaijan and Iran already closely cooperates in the fight against trans-national organized crime and drug trafficking.

Iran and Azerbaijan have enjoyed strong diplomatic relations since 1918. Iran recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.

Tehran has in recent years focused seriously on developing ties with neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan which enjoys various commonalities with Iran in religious, historical and cultural fields.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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