Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 8
By Dalga Khatinoglu – Trend:
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour has briefed Trend on the outcome of bilateral talks between the Presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan, Hassan Rouhani and Ilham Aliyev.
Rahimpour has said that friendly ties between President Aliyev and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani over the past three years have contributed to the expansion of ties between the two countries.
According to the deputy minister, major economic works are underway between the two countries and key figures of cabinet accompany President Rouhani during his ongoing Baku visit.
According to Rahimpour, participation of key figures of cabinet in the talks demonstrates the significance of the meetings.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, along with Transportation Minister Abbas Akhoundi, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian, as well as two vice-presidents have accompanied president during the two-day visit.
Earlier on Aug. 7, Iran and Azerbaijan inked six documents for cooperation in various sectors including the North-South international transportation corridor project, e-security, and tourism, as well as banking sector.
Rahimpour said that over the past three years, Iran and Azerbaijan have held various discussions on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and they have reached proper results.
However, the experts of both sides need to attend more talks on several legal issues, he added.
Rahimpour said the officials following expert-level talks in future will execute decisions on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
The railways of Iran and Azerbaijan will be connected in the coming months and there are ongoing economic discussions over financing the Rasht-Astara railway.
Elaborating on financing the Rasht-Astara railway, he said there is no doubt that Azerbaijan will fulfill its commitment ($500 million) regarding the financing of the railway segment.
He further touched upon the countries’ decision to expand cooperation in tourism sector and said currently 1.5 million people from Iran and Azerbaijan visit the two countries per year. The figure is projected to reach two million people per year.
Under the MoU on tourism, Azerbaijan will ease visa requirements for Iranian citizens.
