By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan-Iran-Turkey trilateral format serves to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region, said Elmar Mammadyarov on January 26.   

The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan made the remark as he met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Ibrahim Rahimpour, who paid a visit to Baku.

The sides praised the current level of Azerbaijan-Iran bilateral relations, and expressed their confidence that cooperation between the two countries will be further successfully developed in accordance with the will of the two countries' heads of state.

The FM noted that the meetings at the level of heads of state, high-level reciprocal visits, activities of the intergovernmental joint commission, and relations between the people play an important role in the comprehensive development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran.

Rahimpour touched upon the presidential decree upon declaring 2017 the Year of Islamic Solidarity in Azerbaijan, noting that “this is a wise decision.”

The two also emphasized the importance of 48th Baku meeting of the special working group held in the capital on January 25-26 for drafting a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states.

They as well discussed the development of transport corridors connecting the two countries, including the North-South railway line. The sides also exchanged views on a number of regional and global issues of mutual interest.

The history of relations between Iran and Azerbaijan has a particular specificity, causing all stages of the development of bilateral relations. The present Iranian administration’s policy of improving international relations, Tehran’s pursuit of win-win situations, and a political will shared by Iran and Azerbaijan have improved the chances of growing economic ties between the two neighboring countries.

Following the lifting of sanctions on January 2016, Tehran has repeatedly expressed intention to improve trade with neighboring Azerbaijan in a bid to make up for the decline in trade turnover between the two countries.

Agriculture, banking sector, pharmaceutics, as well as cooperation in the international North-South transport corridor are the main areas that the two states are focused on.