Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Iranian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ali Mardanifard said on February 10 that cooperation between Uzbekistan and Iran will significantly develop in 2014, Trend Agency reported.

He made this remark at a press conference marking the 35th anniversary of the Islamic revolution,

"After the establishment of diplomatic relations in May 1992, association between Iran and Uzbekistan is developing on the principles of mutual esteem and benefit, thanks to the historic and cultural ties between the two countries," the ambassador said.

The two countries have so far signed nearly 50 intergovernmental and interagency agreements on cooperation in various spheres that determine the directions of interaction.

"Uzbekistan's location in the heart of Central Asia and Iran's geographical position as the nearest secure and economical way of access for countries of the whole region to world markets through the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, is the most important prerequisite for the development of economic relations between Iran and Uzbekistan," the Iranian ambassador stressed.

The necessary conditions were created for the expansion of interaction thanks to the agreements signed between Iran and Uzbekistan in the field of transport, trade and economy.

"Also, the implementation of quadripartite agreement on the establishment of the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman international transport and transit corridor will give a strong impetus to the development of trade and economic ties," he added.

Mardanifard went on to note that the two countries mutually complement each other in economic terms, allowing the import of high quality and affordable Iranian goods. Also, the agreements between the representatives of business, parliamentary and government structures of the two countries have become active recently.

"All this gives hope that we will see a significant rise in cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic field in 2014," he explained.