Tehran, Iran, August 31
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Twenty-two members of Iran’s North Khorasan Province Chamber of Commerce met Mohsen Pak Ayeen, Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, in Baku.
The Iranian delegation is on a visit to Azerbaijan to explore the market for more cooperation with the Azerbaijani side, Iran's embassy in Baku told Trend August 31.
Pak Ayeen said that businessmen from both sides should grasp their common grounds to evermore strengthen their ties.
Pointing to strong will from both governments to help bring the private sectors together, he called for joint meetings where the sides could be familiarized with each other.
Pak Ayeen said that Iranian products enjoy enough quality to compete with other products in the Azerbaijani market, underlining that food and construction products imported from Iran are popular among Azerbaijani consumers.
Calling for the removal of mutual trade obstacles, the ambassador said that facilitating tourism, reducing tariffs, coordinating the affairs of customs administrations, and establishing peace at border areas have greatly contributed to the improvement of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.
In mid-July Iran gained access to $400 million of its assets that had been frozen in Azerbaijan following the ease of international sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The assets belonged to the Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO) and the Central Bank of Iran.
Also on August 31, Iran’s Trade Attaché in Baku Mohammad Ebrahim Naghizadeh said Azerbaijan has turned into the twelfth largest importer of Iranian products which is an unprecedented record in Tehran-Baku trade history.
Azerbaijan's exports to Iran almost doubled to $14.4 million in Q1 2016 year-to-year, while imports increased from $19.4 million in Q1 2015 to $27 million in Q1 2016.