Baku, Oct 30, IRNA -- Iran and Azerbaijan inked an agreement to boost
economic cooperation at the end of the fifth session of the
Iran-Azerbaijan joint economic commission on october 29-30 in Baku.
Under the agreement which was inked by Iran's Minister of
Cooperatives Ali Sufi and Azeri Minister of Development Farhad Aliyev,
the two sides pledged to work together on the exploitation of the
energy deposits, transportation, car manufacturing, electricity and
road building.
Iran is to export some 300-350 cubic meters of natural gas to
Nakhichevan annually.
Commenting on the Iran-Azerbaijan ties, Sufi was pleased over the
pace of progress over the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan and
said the two countries' shared historic, geographical, political, and
economic interests and are expected to provide better opportunities
for cooperation and unity between the two neighbors.
The sixth session of the Iran-Azerbaijan joint economic Commission
is to be held next year in Tehran.
Ahead of his Azerbaijan visit, Sufi told reporters that 18 main
topics including transportation, energy, agriculture, mines and
industries would be discussed with Azeri officials.
Ali Sufi said a mutual agreement between Tehran and Baku to extend
the Azeri railway into Iran at Astara border cross point would pave
the way for further transportation cooperation between the two
countries.
He put emphasis on agreements inked to strengthen one of the key
corridors of the North-South transit route.
Tehran and Baku governments' should get involved in more joint
projects at various levels and in different fields, as well as
continuing active dialogues aimed at solving the previous minute
misunderstandings, he noted.
He expressed hope that the two countries' relations would be
drastically boosted as a result of the discussions at the 5th joint
commission of Tehran-Baku Ties.
On the other hand, Azeri Minister of Economic Development Farhad
Aliyev stressed pledges to strengthen Tehran-Baku cooperation
following Azeri President Heydar Aliyev's visit to Iran last May.
