Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen called for more cooperation between Baku and Iran’s northwestern Ardabil Province, bordering Azerbaijan.

Ayeen’s remarks came as Iranian province neighboring with Azerbaijan expressed interest in boosting trade turnover with Baku.

“Considering capabilities available in Ardabil, the province is able to share the highest level among Iranian provinces in term of exporting goods to Azerbaijan,” Pak Ayeen told Trend on August 18.

He stressed that further development of economic ties between Ardabil and Azerbaijan are among the embassy’s priorities and urged Azerbaijani media representatives to travel to the province to better expose opportunities available there.

Discussing plans to ensure all-day activity at custom offices, Pak Ayeen said the two sides had agreed on the issue in principle and the plan will be implemented after the proper equipment is installed and a labor force is placed in the four acting custom checkpoints, the report added.

There are six border checkpoints on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border including Julfa, Shakhtakhti, Astara, Bilasuvar, and Imishli. The Horadiz border checkpoint hasn't been in operation for some time.

A while ago, a new passenger terminal was established on the Iranian side of the Bilasuvar border checkpoint.

Since February 2010, Iran unilaterally abolished the visa regime for citizens of Azerbaijan, with the exception of journalists.

Azerbaijan and Iran also agreed within an intergovernmental commission to simplify the visa regime and introduce 30-day visas for Iranian citizens enteringthe Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The visa fee is ten euros.

Nakhchivan is one of Azerbaijan's regions thathas been under a blockade over the last 20 years due to the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

The two countries had decided earlier to adopt new measures to simplify the visa regime for citizens of the two states.

Pak Ayeen also pointed out problems for Iranian citizens travelling to Azerbaijan.

“We asked the Azerbaijani Embassy to Tehran and the Consulate-General in Tabriz to facilitate the issue of visas for Iranian traders,” he stressed.

Furthermore, the Iranian diplomat described the establishment of a joint trade chamber between the two countries as a necessary step to accelerate bilateral trade. He also expressed his hope that the draft MOU text submitted by the Iranian side in this regard would be approved during the coming ninth session of the Joint Commission on Cooperation, the report added.

Data released by Iran’s Customs Organizations shows that the volume of exports via the Ardabil Province has declined by 8.9 percent in the first quarter of the current Iranian year compared with the same period last year. However, figures suggest that there was a 15.7 million dollar increase in the value of the exported goods.

Azerbaijan and Iran have had diplomatic relations since 1918. Iran recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and diplomatic relations between the two countries were reestablished in 1992.

Currently, the two countries are focused on expanding economic ties in various fields, including industry, agriculture, energy, alternative energy, and transportation.

Azerbaijan was the 12th leading importer of Iranian non-oil goods in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2015, according to the Iran Customs Administration.

Iran exported $435.34 million of non-oil goods to Azerbaijan and imported $22.22 million of non-oil goods from the country.

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

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