Baku and Tehran prepare convergence in energy sector

The Iranian authorities are interested in using the Azerbaijani pipeline, Azerbaijan also intends to invest in oil production in Iran. These topics were included on the agenda of the talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held today in Tehran.

According to the President of Azerbaijan, the states have unique prospects for cooperation in the oil and gas sector, Iran has invested heavily in the oil and gas fields in Azerbaijan, and in the course of the meeting the Presidents exchanged views on further mutually beneficial cooperation. "The issue of joint development of the oil and gas fields  located on the Caspian Sea was also discussed, we expect good results. The Caspian Sea is our common heritage. The Caspian Sea should continue to be a sea of ​​cooperation, security and peace. Excellent work is being done in the field of energy, there are excellent prospects. The cooperation in this area is not limited to Iranian-Azerbaijani cooperation. The neighboring countries can join this project, and then it will turn into a beautiful transnational, regional project,’’ Trend quotes Ilham Aliyev as saying.

In addition, in a number of the documents signed by the parties, there are two memorandums in the oil and gas sector. Thus, there is the ‘Memorandum of Understanding between SOCAR and the National Iranian Oil Company’  the SOCAR president, Rovnag Abdullayev, and president of the National Iranian Oil Company, Rukneddin Javadi. Signatures under the "Memorandum of understanding between SOCAR and Investtsionnoy company ‘Ghadir’ of Iran’ were put by Rovnag Abdullayev and the president of the investment company ‘Ghadir’ of Iran, Soleimani Amiri.

Earlier, Tehran offered SOCAR to invest in the development of the oil onshore fields of Iran, the first vice president of SOCAR, Khoshbakht Yusifzade, said.

"After the removal of sanctions, Iran wants foreign investors to return to Iran. Tehran has suggested that investors to develop four blocks in its sector. We were told that we can talk not only about marine developments. Among the projects presented by Iran there will be no dispute from the Azerbaijani side. All of them are located in the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea,’’ Yusifzade said.

The head of Iran's Ministry of Health, Oktay Shiraliyev, and his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Hassan Gazizade, signed the ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran on cooperation in the field of health and medical science.’

Shahin Mustafayev and the Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social welfare of Iran, Ali Rabii, signed the ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and social well-being of the Islamic Republic of Iran.’

Also during the joint press conference Ilham Aliyev said that the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have deep historical roots, as the peoples of the two countries have lived side by side for centuries. He stressed that the two countries support each other in international organizations. "Our relations have a bright future. We have reached an agreement to expand joint activities in the fight against the international terrorism. It is learned that yesterday the US and Russia reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria. It pleases us. We believe that this event will lead to regime of a ceasefire and then peace in Syria. The Syrian people should determine their future destiny,’’ APA quotes him as saying.

The head of Azerbaijan said that the state should not interfere in the internal affairs and the duty to show respect to each other. "If the countries make progress in this direction and will not interfere in each other's internal affairs, the war in the region will be over and there will be peace," lham Aliyev said.

And the signing of the documents between the two countries, according to the head of Azerbaijan, shows that the relationship between them will be developed in the future.

According to Hassan Rouhani, Iran and Azerbaijan share a common history, culture and religion. "The peoples of Iran and Azerbaijan have one soul,’’ he said.

The Iranian president stressed that the Caspian is a sea of ​​peace and friendship. "For centuries, people living on the shores of this sea have lived together, and now people should enjoy the gifts of the sea," Hassan Rouhani said.

In addition, the Iranian President stressed that the Iranian authorities believe that the solutions to regional problems are not in the military, but in the political route. He recalled that the meeting with Ilham Aliyev was the fifth time in the last two and a half years. "At every meeting there has been progress in the sphere of ​​bilateral cooperation between the two friendly, brotherly and neighboring countries,’’ Hassan Rouhani.

He said that important political issues were discussed during the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, including bilateral cooperation in the economy and culture. "By the end of this year we will see significant progress in the implementation of the construction project connecting south Azerbaijan to the north of Iran with a railway bridge between Astara (Azerbaijan) and Astara (Iran),’’ the president of Iran assures.

According to him, at the meeting the constructive talks were held on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and the sharing of resources, including oil and energy, as well as issues related to religion and the Syrian crisis.