Iran-Azerbaijan To Upgrade Trade

Tehran, March 16, IRNA – Iran and Azerbaijan officials in Tehran on Satuday decided to upgrade mutual trade and commerce. Azeri official Kamaladdin Heydarov, former Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan and former head of Azerbaijan customs office, and head of Iran Customs Administration Masood Karbasian and head of Iran Mines and Mining Industries Organization Mehdi Karbasian discussed ways to expand customs cooperation. They also studied the impediments to Iran-Azerbaijan trade. ˈThe two sides surveyed ways and means to expand trade and commerce in the Free Trade and Industrial Zones and main mechanisms to enhance level of trade,ˈ said Karbasian. He said that the two sides should reconsider border regulations to remove existing irregularities. Pointing to Azerbaijan visa formalities as an impediment to the trade ties, he said that the time is ripe for expansion of economic cooperation. Heydarov said for his part that the Azeri republic is willing to export Azeri goods to Iran without any customs duties. He referred to certain problems with export of Azeri commodities to Iraqi Kurdistan province and the difficulties in delivery of port services in Iran. Meanwhile, Mehdi Karbasian called for active cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan in the field of mines the mining industries and said Iran is ready to conduct exploratory and research projects in Azerbaijan./end