Tehran, March 5, AZERTAC

Following their meeting in a limited format, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani were joined by their delegations for expanded talks.

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani said:

- I say "Welcome" to Mr. President Ilham Aliyev and members of his accompanying delegation. I am very pleased to see you.

The meeting that we held here with Mr. President and members of the delegation was the beginning. I hope that this beginning will make a better contribution to our relations.

It is with great pleasure that I emphasize that relations between the two countries, two states have rapidly developed to expand over the past years. It indicates that we should look to the future with hope.

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Thank you, dear Mr. President.

Firstly, I am thankful to you for the invitation, hospitality shown to me and the delegation.

We are very pleased with the successful development of Azerbaijan-Iran ties. I can say that these relations have reached the highest level over the past few years. A number of important issues have been addressed, and Azerbaijan-Iran cooperation today covers almost all fields.

Our relations are based on history. These are ties of friendship, brotherhood, and our meetings at the level of presidents, meetings of ministers are a great contribution to our work.

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During the meeting, the sides noted that cultural, economic and religious relations and good neighbourliness between the two countries make up the basis of cooperation.

They emphasized that relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are developing in the best interests of the two countries. The importance of reciprocal investment making was stressed, and the sides said several steps have already been taken in this regard.

They stressed rapid development of economic relations, and pointed out good potential for cooperation in the Caspian Sea as well as in energy, oil and gas fields.

The sides noted the significance of developing cooperation between the two countries, and emphasized good prospects for military-technical collaboration.

They noted that friendly and brotherly ties between Azerbaijan and Iran have reached a higher level in recent years.

The sides pointed out the existence of wide potential for developing relations even further.