Iran, Azerbaijan to Strengthen Security Coop.

Iran and Azerbaijan have agreed to improve their security and border collaboration.

The agreement was signed in a meeting between Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and Madat Guliyev, the chief of the Azeri security service, IRNA reported.

Speaking in the meeting in Baku on Monday, Fazli described ties between the two neighbors as "strategic" and said widespread cultural and religious commonalities among the two nations are a good basis for further expansion of bonds of friendship. The Iranian minister stressed the need for closer cooperation on security, a top requirement for economic development and promotion of public welfare. "An effective security interaction will have a positive impact on the region," he said. "We are ready to share our intelligence experience."

Guliyev expressed his satisfaction with growing relations between the two states, hailing Iran as a "brother" that has provided Azerbaijan with extensive support.

Fazli also held a separate meeting with Lieutenant General Elchin Guliyev, the chief of border service of Azerbaijan.

The minister said the two countries' joint borders are those of "friendship, brotherhood and peace", but they should increase cooperation to better guarantee border security. Guliyev welcomed greater border collaboration, saying Azeri border officials will "focus their efforts on furthering" the two countries' border interaction.

Earlier on the day, Fazli met Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to discuss bilateral relations. Fazli arrived in Baku on Monday for a two-day official visit. On Tuesday, he was expected to meet Speaker of the National Assembly Ogtay Asadov and Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev. Iran and Azerbaijan signed six memorandums of understanding and agreements to promote mutual cooperation in various fields, in a ceremony in Baku in August attended by President Hassan Rouhani and Aliyev.