Presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia Ilham Aliyev, Hassan Rouhani and Vladimir Putin signed a declaration following their trilateral meeting in Baku Aug. 8.
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The only country bordering both Russian Federation and Iran, Azerbaijan is seeking to position itself as a major transportation hub.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said relations with Russian Federation were important, citing agreement to encourage investment, establishing custom-free corridor and cooperation in science and technology.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has offered to help finance the so-called North-South transportation corridor, which he touted as a project of “great importance” in connecting Europe and Asia.
Azerbaijan, Iran and Russian Federation may strengthen their trilateral cooperation in fight against terrorism, said Mohsen Pak Aein, Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Iran has recently expressed frustration that its nuclear deal with the west has not led to more immediate economic or political gains, although it has cleared a path to a more active regional role. Among them are the Memoranda of Understanding between the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology & Patents of Azerbaijan and the Institute of Standards & Industrial Research of Iran in the field of standardization, metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation among the central banks of the two countries.
In line with this, the transportation ministers of the two countries inked a protocol for constructing the North-South corridor.
“Over a million Azerbaijanis are suffering from this occupation”, Aliyev said.
Putin said the three presidents have much to discuss in the way of transport and energy projects and the overall diversification of trade ties.
“From the perspective of Iran, tripartite cooperation between Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russian Federation within a tripartite framework cannot only contribute to the expansion and strengthening of capacities in all political, cultural, and economic spheres, but also it can create new opportunities to address current regional challenges via synergy and convergence”.
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Masoumeh Ebtekar who is among President Rouhani’s entourage in his Baku visit, met on Monday with Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Republic of Azerbaijan Huseingulu Bagirov.
