Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.17
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Iran is interested in opening air service between Baku and Rasht, governor of Iran's Gilan province Mohammad Ali Najafi told reporters Nov.17.
He made the remarks during the 5th International Exhibition of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baku.
Najafi said this will allow to expand the cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan in the sphere of tourism.
"There is a great potential for developing the cooperation between the Gilan province and Azerbaijan in tourism," said the governor. "We are very interested in opening a flight between Baku and Rasht which will allow to increase the mutual flow of tourists."
Moreover, there is a potential for developing maritime tourism between the Anzali port and Baku by transporting tourists through the Caspian Sea, according to Najafi.
"We can carry out passenger transportation with speedboats," he added.
Furthermore, Najafi said that Gilan province has great export potential.
"We have the opportunity to export subtropical fruits, cement and other goods to Azerbaijan." he said. "Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has the opportunity to export goods to Gilan."
Najafi noted that in order to develop the trade and tourism, first of all, it is necessary to simplify the border crossing procedures between the two countries.
"As you know, before, the citizens living in border areas were able to easily cross the border in both directions," he said. "But for traveling to other Iranian cities such as Tabriz and Tehran, it was necessary to obtain a visa."
"Iran has canceled the visa regime with Azerbaijan. Therefore, we would like Azerbaijan to simplify the visa regime as well," said Najafi. "This will allow us to develop tourism relations and petty trade."
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran stood at $86.48 million as of Jan.-Sept. 2015, according to Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee.
Edited by SI
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