Tehran appoints new co-chairman of intergovernmental commission with Baku

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

The Iranian Presidential Administration has decreed to appoint Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Masoud Karbasian as new co-chairman of the Azerbaijan-Iran Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

The decision followed the appointment of the former co-chairman of the commission, Mahmoud Vaezi, as the chief of staff of president’s office, Mohammadreza Najafi, the press officer of Iran’s Embassy to Azerbaijan, told Trend.

 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in August named Masoud Karbasian as the minister of economic affairs and finance of Iran.

Vaezi, the former minister of communications and information technologies, was the co-chairman of the intergovernmental commission from the Iranian side.

From the Azerbaijani side, the intergovernmental commission is headed by the Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev.

The two countries are eager to develop their non-oil economy, integrate regional transport networks and boost mutually advantageous business projects.  Such spheres as agriculture, banking sector, pharmaceutics, as well as cooperation within the international North-South transport corridor are the main areas that the two states are focused on.

Iranian companies have so far invested some $1.2 billion, while some $145 million fell to a share of non-oil sector. Some 538 companies with Iranian capital are operating in Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with Iran in January-July 2017 amounted to $148.9 million, of which $139.1 million accounted for import of Iranian products, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.