President Hassan Rouhani highlighted the long-standing, friendly relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, calling for increased efforts to boost mutual cooperation and speed up the implementation of bilateral agreements.
He made the statement in a Tuesday meeting with Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan Ogtay Asadov in Tehran, IRNA reported.
“The two countries’ relations have grown in recent years, leading to close Tehran-Baku collaborations today,” the president said, stressing the need to expand ties in various sectors, including industry, medicine, science and technology.
According to Rouhani, cooperation in projects pertaining to the International North–South Transport Corridor and the Astara-Astara Railroad, which connects namesake cities in Iran and Azerbaijan, have been major steps toward improving two-way transit relations.
The International North–South Transport Corridor is a multimodal network of ship, rail and road routes for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
Iran and Azerbaijan have reached agreements on joint activity on Caspian energy resources that Rouhani hoped will soon be implemented.
“This win-win agreement is to the benefit of both nations,” he said.
The president also underscored Iran’s approach to regional issues, which is focused on finding political solutions through dialogue while upholding the nations’ rights.
Asadov lauded cordial relations with Iran, calling for an improvement, especially in trade ties.
“Trade volume between the two countries has increased by 40% in 2018 and can further grow in view of the existing capacities,” he said.
He expressed hope that INSTC will help develop Tehran-Baku economic relations once it becomes operational.
The Azeri official also voiced approval for Iran’s regional policies and its defense of regional countries’ sovereignty.
“Definitely, problems of the region should be addressed only by regional states,” he said.
