Iranian diplomat lauds Tehran, Baku bilateral ties

Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen hailed the fruitful and growing ties between Tehran and Baku in the last few years, and asked for the expansion of mutual cooperation between the two friendly states. Pointing to the deep-rooted ties between Tehran and Baku, the envoy noted that the two sides enjoy historical, religious and cultural commonalties and have cooperation in energy and trade sectors in the Caspian Sea. The two countries are expected to enter new phases of cooperation in the fields of energy, trade and transit of goods, he added. Iran has recently enhanced efforts to boost political, economic and cultural ties and cooperation with the regional and neighboring countries, specially the Central Asian states. In October, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to Baku to attend the 12th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). The summit was held at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. The Iranian and Azeri presidents met on the sidelines of ECO Summit. Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit to Baku, President Ahmadinejad called the ECO summit in Azerbaijan as "very good and constructive". He also expressed the hope that ECO would witness very positive outcomes during Azerbaijan's presidency.