Baku, Azerbaijan, August 6
By Huseyn Veliyev, Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
Azerbaijan and Iran agreed to intensify the cooperation in the spheres of trade, economy, banking sector and investing in the joint projects under the protocol signed following the Iranian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission on economic development in Baku on Aug.6.
The two sides intend to develop the cooperation in transporting Azerbaijani gas to Iran and in selling it, as well as to increase the volume of 'swap' operations for supplying Azerbaijani gas to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through Iran.
Moreover, the two countries aim to intensify the cooperation in transportation and exchange of electricity and to create hydropower plants on the border rivers (Ordubad, Marazad and others) and to work out rules for using the water of border rivers, in particular the Araz River.
Azerbaijan and Iran intend to develop the cooperation within the North-South (Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran) railway corridor, in the spheres of maritime shipping, customs, tourism, science and research, IT, agriculture, culture and heath care.
"The cooperation agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Iran opens a new page in their relations," co-chairman of the Azerbaijani-Iranian commission, Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi said.
Vaezi stressed that the delegation led by him includes over 60 representatives of the private sector and they held fruitful negotiations with Azerbaijani companies.
"During the business forum to be held tomorrow, we will declare the creation of a special committee that will promote closer cooperation between Azerbaijani and Iranian private sectors. I'm confident that we will hold the next, 10th joint intergovernmental commission in 2015 and I believe that by that time the volume of trade turnover between the two countries will be two or three times more than this year," Vaezi said.