Iran, Azerbaijan sign agreements to boost ties

Iran and Azerbaijan signed 11 memorandum of understanding (MoUs) and agreements in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday to boost ties in diverse areas of interests.

The ceremony was attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his visiting Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, who arrived in Tehran earlier in the day heading a high ranking political and economic delegation, Tasnim news agency reported.

Based on the agreements, both countries will cooperate in the management of emergency situations, customs affairs and veterinary and livestock health.

Also, they signed agreement frameworks for power sale and exchange, connecting the railroads of Iran and Azerbaijan, construction of a railroad bridge connecting the Iranian city of Astara to its namesake in Azerbaijan.

An agreement for cooperation was also signed between Iran's vice-president for women and family affairs and Azerbaijan's public commission for women, children, and family affairs.

The MoUs on health and medical sciences cooperation, labor, employment, and social support, as well as two MoUs on oil and gas projects cooperation were the other documents inked by the officials of two neighbors.

After the ceremony, Rouhani and Aliyev acknowledged their similar views on most of the issues pertaining to the global and regional affairs as well as those of bilateral ties.

Both presidents stressed the sovereignty of Syrian people over the future of their own country and underlined the political process for the settlement of the crisis in the Arab state.

Aliyev expressed content over the lift of western and the international sanctions against Iran, saying that the deal between Iran and the world powers over the former's nuclear issue has provided an opportunity for further expansion of cooperation between two neighbors in diverse areas. Endit