President Aliyev: Azerbaijani-Iranian relations developing successfully
By Aynur Karimova
The relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are developing successfully, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on October 20.
He made this remark at a meeting with a delegation led by Governor of the Iran's East Azerbaijan Province Esmail Jabbarzadeh in Baku.
President Aliyev also stressed the importance of overall joint activity based on the principles of friendship and brotherhood.
He emphasized that after the official visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Azerbaijan and his trip to Iran, bilateral relations between the countries entered a new stage.
The head of state expressed his satisfaction with the development of cooperation in political, economic, energy, transport, trade, healthcare and other fields.
Touching upon the joint projects, including the Iran-Azerbaijan railway, President Aliyev praised the regional importance of these projects, and emphasized the role of the two countries' successful cooperation in strengthening stability in the region.
Jabbarzadeh, in turn, conveyed greetings of the Iranian president to his Azerbaijani counterpart.
Recalling with great respect his meeting with national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, Jabbarzadeh said that Iran established excellent relations with Nakhchivan at that time.
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.
In 2014, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $186.6 million.
Iran's export to Azerbaijan during the first half of 2015 decreased 55.36 percent to $42.52 million year-on-year. Azerbaijan's export to Iran also decreased 67.11 percent to $11.16 million during that period.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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