Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 28
Trend:
Azerbaijan will be an attractive country for Iranian tourists on the eve of the Novruz holiday next year and in subsequent years, as a number of serious innovations is expected in Azerbaijan’s tourism sector, the country’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev said.
He made the remarks in Baku during the meeting with minister of communications and information technology of Iran, co-chairman of Azerbaijan-Iran State Commission on economic, trade and humanitarian spheres Mahmoud Vaezi, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a message.
At the same time, shopping festivals that are planned to be held in Azerbaijan will be also interesting for Iranian tourists, Garayev noted.
He informed about the work carried out in recent years in Azerbaijan for the development of the tourism industry, adding that the rich culture, ancient history, the hospitality of the Azerbaijani people, as well as new tourist infrastructure and simplification of the visa system have a positive impact on the increase of the number of foreign tourists coming to Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani minister stressed that Iranian citizens comprise a significant part of the tourists coming to Azerbaijan, recalling that the flow of tourists from Iran considerably increased this year on the eve of the Novruz holiday and in the subsequent period compared to previous years.
At the meeting, Garayev noted the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran in all spheres and stressed that culture days will be held in both countries in 2017, and in particular, it is planned to hold Azerbaijan’s culture days in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Ardabil.
Garayev invited the Iranian delegation to take an active part in the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue to be held in Azerbaijan in May 2017.
In his turn, Mahmoud Vaezi expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in all areas. He hailed President Ilham Aliyev’s and President Hassan Rouhani’s roles in expansion of the existing cooperation and friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.
The friendship between the Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents positively affects the further development of the relations between the two countries, Vaezi said. Historical, cultural and religious unity between Azerbaijan and Iran gives an impetus to development of mutual relations between the two countries, he noted.
The Iranian minister expressed belief that Azerbaijani-Iranian relations will even more strengthen in the coming years. Vaezi underlined that Iranian citizens show great interest in Azerbaijan.