Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 11
By Farhad Daneshvar – Trend:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that his administration gives priority to ties with the neighboring countries, in particular Russia and Azerbaijan.
Speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate several development projects in the northern province of Mazandaran, the president said the ties with Azerbaijan and Russia have considerably improved over the past years, IRNA news agency reported Apr. 11.
He added that trade turnover with Russia over the last Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015-March 20, 2016) hiked by 80 percent, forecasting that the development of the Islamic Republic’s northern port of Amirabad will contribute to further boosting of trade ties with Russia.
“Our trade ties with Azerbaijan have also had a proper development, and in the coming years we will observe growth in the trade relations,” he said.
Iran-Russia trade turnover saw a huge surge over the past year, rising by 80 percent to more than $2 billion, with energy, agriculture and defense sales forming the bulk of the transactions.
Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran amounted to $210.76 million in 2016, $49.68 million of which accounted for the export of Azerbaijani goods to Iran, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.