Iran calls for inking preferential trade agreement
In the course of his visit, Mustafayev met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. During the meeting held on March 13, Rouhani described the will of governments and nations of Iran and Azerbaijan in the expansion of bilateral ties and cooperation as significant.
The Iranian president praised the efforts made by the ambassadors and officials of the two countries at the joint economic cooperation commission to expand ties, the official news website of Iranian president reported.
Pointing to an official invitation by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to visit Baku in the near future, Rouhani expressed hope that the upcoming visit would deepen ties, cooperation and friendship between the two countries.
Iranian head of state further toucheduponexistingcooperationbetween the two countries and said the sides have established proper ties in the fields of industry, pharmaceutical, automotive, agriculture and tourism.
The parties have also taken proper steps in other sectors including transit and the Caspian Sea, he added.
Elaborating on cooperation between the two countries in transportation, he added that the two countries are capable of turning into a major route for connectingAsia andAfrica to northern Europe.
The Iranian president also called for the continuation of cooperation and discussions between officials from the two countries concerning the legal status of the Caspian Sea and also planning for organizing economic cooperation in the Caspian region.
In turn, Mustafayev said that the volume of investment and trade turnover between the two countries in the recent years has considerably grown.
The minister also touched upon Rouhani’s expected visit to Baku and said the visit will accelerate ties and cooperation between the neighboring nations.
During the meeting with Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Masoud Karbasian,Mustafayev noted that Iran invested $3.1 billion in Azerbaijan’s economy, according to the message of Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry.
Mustafayev said that over 700 companies with Iranian capital are registered in Azerbaijan, adding that they operate in the industry,construction,services,communications,trade, transport and agriculture spheres.
Also,theInternationalNorth-South Transport Corridor project, which is an important direction of the AzerbaijaniIranian cooperation, is being implemented at high pace,he said.
The minister said that as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor project, a 8.3-kilometer railway section is ready for operation in Azerbaijan, and a 1.4 kilometer railway section is ready for the operation in Iran, adding that a railway bridge over the Araz River has been built and test trains have already been launched.
Mustafayev noted that it is planned to lay the foundation of the terminal in Iran’s Astara city and build warehouses for the storage of fruit and vegetable products.
Discussions also continue to finance the construction of the RashtAstara railway, which is a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, he said.
The minister recalled that over 19,000 trucks passed through Azerbaijan from Russia to Iran and back in 2017.
Mustafayev also noted that the number of tourists coming from Iran to Azerbaijan is growing every year and reached 363,000 people in 2017.
Iranian citizens rank first among the foreigners who receive entry visas throughtheASANVizasystem,hesaid.
He also emphasized the importance of switching to the round-theclock mode of operation of theAstara, Julfa and Bilasuvar border crossing points in terms of expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov,Chairman ofAzerbaijan Railways CJSCJavid Gurbanov and Economy Minister of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Famil Seyidov were present at the meeting as well.
Karbasian, while speaking on the sidelines of the 12th meeting of joint economic cooperation commission of the two countries, said that talks are underway withAzerbaijan to conclude a preferential trade agreement.
The minister told reporters that the sides are engaged in talks to expand cooperation in various fields, including banking and transportation as well as energy, water, environment and agriculture.
The minister highlighted the significance of cooperation in the agriculture sector, saying that the parties have signed a deal which allows Iran to harvest on 4,000 hectares of lands in Azerbaijan.
Karbasian earlier in the day said the two countries are planning to finalize 12 documents on cooperation within the framework of the 12th meeting of joint economic cooperation commission.
Speaking to reporters,Mustafayev also said that Azerbaijan and Iran are planning to sign a credit agreement in late March to finance construction of the Rasht-Astara railway.
The minister noted that the agreement will be signed during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, the railway construction is expected to be completed within three years.
The minister stressed that the opening of the railway,which is part of the North-South international transport corridor, will allow to deliver goods from the West to the East and vice versa.
“This will increase the economic potential of our countries and not only ours,but the entire region.Thus,Azerbaijan and Iran will contribute to ensuring security in the region,” the minister added.
Touching upon cooperation between the two states in healthcare, he informed that Iran will run one of the private hospitals in Azerbaijan.
“We are developing cooperation with Iran in the field of healthcare and we are planning to transfer one of the private hospitals in Baku to the management of Iranian doctors,” the minister said. “I am confident that the implementation of this project will be completed in the near future.”
He also recalled that Azerbaijan and Iran actively cooperate in other spheres as well.
“Wehaveverygoodtiesintheagriculture sphere,”he noted.“We want to create conditions for the Iranian side to set up production of buses and agricultural machinery in Azerbaijan.”
The minister added that other spheres of cooperation betweenAzerbaijan and Iran include tourism, education and culture.
Regarding regional cooperation, Mustafayev said that Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia are considering the possibility of creating a joint energy corridor.
He said that representatives of the three countries are conducting relevant talks.
“We have a successful cooperation [with Iran] in the energy sector. We are moving from the cooperation in a bilateral format to a trilateral format - Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan,”the minister said.
Mustafayev further noted that Azerbaijan and Iran intend to cooperate in the sphere of oil and gas production in the Caspian Sea.
Earlier during the meeting with Mustafayev, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh expressed hopes that his county and Azerbaijan will finalize an agreement for expansion of cooperation in the oil sector in the near future.
He described the ongoing talks between the two countries in the oil sector as positive, IRNA news agency reported.
He further forecasted that the sides would reach the agreement during President Hassan Rouhani’s expected visit to Baku in late March.
The minister also added that the National Iranian Oil Company has put cooperation with state oil company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, under international regulations.