The conflict can be settled by political means only and Iran would like to see peace, fairness, stability, and friendship in the region, Rouhani said. He made known his country’s readiness to take any steps towards this objective, including the ones that could be taken in the format of international organizations. In a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday, Rouhani said the Islamic Republic of Iran and the neighboring Republic of Azerbaijan enjoy great potential for expansion of bilateral cooperation.
“The two countries are blessed with abundant capacities in economic, cultural, political and international fields that must be taken advantage of”, he added.
Rouhani also expressed hope that all subjects of mutual interest would be discussed with Azeri officials during his two-day stay in Baku.
He indicated that both countries can contribute to each other’s development and boost cooperation in trade, the energy sector, construction of power plants, and assimilation of novel technologies.
Iran and Azerbaijan’s geographic position enables them to play the role of bridges for each other and to create a transport corridor from Europe to the Indian Ocean, Rouhani said.
Iran can get connection to Europe via the Caucasus and Azerbaijan while the latter country can get access to the southern seas via the Iranian territory, he added, calling for a soonest possible construction of railways between Qazvin and Resht in Iran and between Resht and Astara in Azerbaijan. This will help the two countries link up their railway systems directly and will furnish Iran with a railway access to Russia and farther on to Europe.
Rouhani also mentioned other areas for cooperation like fisheries, environmental protection of the Caspian Sea and utilization of its resources, tourism, cross-border projects, and struggle with drugs trafficking.
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