Azerbaijani, Iranian presidents discuss regional processes, Baku-Tehran bilateral relations
BAKU. Nov 9 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the 16th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Tashkent.
Aliyev said addressing Raisi that each of their previous meetings had provided a powerful impetus to developing relations between the two countries, the Azerbaijani presidential website said.
Aliyev thanked Raisi for congratulating Azerbaijan on restoring its territorial integrity and sovereignty and said this not only provided an opportunity for Azerbaijan's more active development but also improved the situation in the entire region.
The two presidents voiced their interest in developing and strengthening bilateral relations.
Raisi acknowledged intensive development of transport interaction between the two countries, it said.
"As we can observe, the transport and transit situation has been improving day by day. Work in the transport field between our countries is gaining momentum. This is something both you and we have been focused on. The route to Agbend through the Aras River and projects that we've been implementing there in coordination with one another meet the interests of both countries. This guarantees a transport link between Azerbaijan, Iran, and Nakhchivan and eliminates concerns in this sphere," Raisi said.
He reiterated the willingness of Iranian companies to facilitate the restoration of Karabakh and East Zangezur.
"As before, we stand ready to provide assistance to you and offer our services including engineering and technical ones, for reconstructing Karabakh. Iranian companies stand ready to help our dear friends from Azerbaijan in Karabakh's reconstruction and in Azerbaijan's development as a whole," Raisi said.
Aliyev and Raisi discussed the construction of a railway and automobile bridge across the Aras toward Agbend and a corridor via Iranian territory.
"They also exchanged opinions on increasing the throughput capacity of the railway infrastructure via Azerbaijan along the North-South corridor and constructing it simultaneously with a Rasht-Astara railroad," it said.
The two presidents also discussed energy cooperation, highlighted the importance of the 3+3 format, and addressed cooperation within international organizations, it said.