Azerbaijan, Iran solve problem of queue at border
A new terminal will be commissioned on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border checkpoint in Bilasuvar in the coming days.
Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen made the remarks in "Journal of Central Asia and the Caucasus" broadcast on Iranian IRINN TV channel.
This will simplify the process of entry of passenger, cars and trucks and will solve the problem of long queues, according to the ambassador.
"At the moment, final work is being carried out at the terminal. I assume that the terminal will begin to operate in the next 20 days, after which this border checkpoint will move into 24-hour operation," the ambassador said.
Pak Ayeen stressed that the ninth meeting of the Azerbaijani-Iranian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and humanitarian cooperation held in Baku has already borne fruit, and noted that there are great prospects for future cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Iranian Customs Administration head Masoud Karbasian will visit Baku in the near future, according to the ambassador.
"The program of the visit is ready and he will visit Azerbaijan soon, " he said.
Along with Bilasuvar border checkpoint there are also Shakhtakhti-Poldesht, Astara and Julfa border checkpoints on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border. Azerbaijan and Iran have reached an agreement on the opening of the Aslanduz-Horadiz border checkpoint,
The governments of Azerbaijan and Iran have agreed to introduce a single entry visa (30-day) for the entrance of Iranian citizens into the territory of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The visa which will cost 10 euros will be issued in the territory of the Nakhchivan International Airport, Sadarek Shakhtakhti and Julfa checkpoints.
It did not ruled out the possibility of extension of this simplified procedure for entry into the rest of the Azerbaijani territories in the future.
At present, the cost of a visa for entry into the territory of Iranian citizens in Azerbaijan is 35 euros.
Azerbaijan prepares for next round of WTO negotiations
The Azerbaijani government hopes to hold the next meeting with the working group of the World Trade Organization in late November, chief negotiator for WTO accession, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev said.
"Azerbaijani side plans to submit answers to the questions of WTO member countries by end of September, on the basis of which the secretariat will prepare a Factual Summary report, which will be sent to the countries," he said.
Azerbaijan has already submitted a new table with the changes in the agricultural sector of the country in the last three years (2011-2013) to the WTO Secretariat for multilateral negotiations on domestic support to agriculture, according to the deputy FM.
The last meeting of the working group was held in June 2014 in Geneva. However, bilateral negotiations on goods and services have been held twice this year - in February [alongside multilateral negotiations on agriculture] and in June.
"Four new countries - Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the Dominican Republic and Honduras joined the negotiating process which took place in late June. An exchange was held among the three countries, however, the Saudi Arabia was represented in expanded format at the talks and has already started to ask specific questions," Mammadguliyev said.
In total, the bilateral talks were held with 12 states last summer.
The chief negotiator believes that it is early to speak about the end of the process, by taking into account the increased interest in holding negotiations with Azerbaijan within the framework of the WTO.
Azerbaijan has had an observer status at the WTO since 1997. A working group on Azerbaijan was established at the WTO Secretariat on July 16, 1997.
Azerbaijan started negotiations with the WTO member countries in 2004. The country is currently negotiating with 18 states.