Iranian agrarians are very interested in close cooperation with Azerbaijan, in particular, in exporting their products to Azerbaijani markets, Iran's deputy agriculture minister Mehdi Ghaemian, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the International Conference on Food Security in Baku.
"Food security is the main task for the whole world and part of the overall security of each country. Azerbaijan and Iran are neighbors, countries with very close cultures, and on the eve of my arrival in Baku, many representatives of the Iranian private sector expressed interest in good relations with Azerbaijan and vice versa - private Azerbaijani companies contact me expressing their interest in agricultural trade with Iran," he said in the first place.
Mehdi Ghaemian stressed importance of ensuring bilateral food security for strengthening the positive relations of neighboring countries, such as Azerbaijan and Iran. "As a representative of the Iranian government, I support such ties," Iran's deputy agriculture minister said.
"I must say that our countries have a very high level of contacts in the agrarian sphere. The most important thing in agricultural trade issues is a fast transfer, because food go bad quickly, and we have excellent cooperation at the governmental level. We have a memorandum of understanding. Of course, there can be delays in the movement of goods in both directions, but with a lower level of relations, the exchange of agricultural products would be slower," Mehdi Ghaemian noted.
It is also important that the private sector plays a key role in the food cooperation between the two countries. "The export is determined by the private sector that responds to the needs of the countries. The parties communicate with each other and choose products for the market, while the government has no effect on the private sector, which is correct, because private companies should work for effective trade in products. And the government sector's aim is to create working conditions for them," he concluded, adding that the Iranian authorities welcome mutually beneficial cooperation with Azerbaijan.
