Tehran, Iran, September 11
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s new administration is steadfast to follow deeper relations with its friend and neighbor the Republic of Azerbaijan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told Trend September 11.
“One of the most prominent policies of the 12th administration is to create extensive and full-bodied cooperation with all its neighbors,” he said.
“Surely, one of our good neighbors to the north is Azerbaijan, with which we have had, continue to have, and hope to go on to have very expansive relations and with more depth,” he said.
Hassan Rouhani was elected as president for a second term on May 19. He reinstated Mohammad Javad Zarif as his foreign minister shortly after. Azerbaijan has been one of the closest countries to Tehran in Rouhani’s first administration, 2013-2017.
The presidents of Azerbaijan and Iran each visited the other country two times over the past four years. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev visited Tehran in early 2016, which took place on the invitation of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani. The high-level official visit resulted in conclusion of documents covering various areas of cooperation between Baku and Tehran.
Iranian and Azerbaijani officials signed 11 memorandums of understanding on the sidelines of a meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, Feb. 23, 2016.
Also in August of that year, the two countries signed documents for cooperation in various sectors, including transportation, electricity swap, healthcare and medical sciences, oil, gas and petrochemical industries, and others.