Tehran, Iran, June 14
By Fatih Karimov, Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
Iran and Azerbaijan will establish a joint bank in the near future, said Mohsen Pak Ayeen, the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan told Trend June 14.
He made the statement on the sidelines of a conference titled "trade with Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan", which was held in Tehran.
The joint bank will be opened in the Iranian capital, Tehran, Pak Ayeen added.
The issue will be discussed during a meeting between Iran's Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif and his Azerbaijani counterpart in Tehran, he said, without mentioning the visit's date.
He went on to say that bartering and the use of national currencies will be promoted in the bilateral ties.
More than 20,000 permissions have been issued by Azerbaijan for trucks to transit certain goods from Iran to Russia and Georgia via Azerbaijan without paying taxes, he added.
"We are planning to expand exports of food products, nuts, construction materials, and agricultural products to Azerbaijan."
At present, non-oil trade between Iran and Azerbaijan amounts to $500 million, he said, adding that the figure will reach $2 billion if tourism revenues and other incomes are taken into account.