Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia pledge to step up partnership
Iran and Azerbaijan have agreed to ease their visa procedures, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in Baku on Thursday after meeting the Caucasian country's leaders.
Zarif attended a quadrilateral meeting on connectivity with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Memmedyarov, Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu with the aim of boosting regional trade.
"Iran has visa waiver agreements with Turkey and Georgia and Iranians traveling to Azerbaijan can benefit soon from facilities in visa issuance" including visa on arrival, he said.
Zarif said travel has now become easier for the tourists of the four countries and they are set to discuss further facilitation in this regard in their future meetings.
The Iranian foreign minister touched on numerous historical, cultural and geographical commonalities among the four countries, which connect them together, saying "our cooperation can pave the way for peace and stability in the region.”
Zarif singled out transit as one of the most important fields for cooperation among the four countries, through which they can connect the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and "provide for a fast, safe and cheap route for the regional countries and the world".
Joint statement
Earlier in the day, the four top diplomats issued a joint statement in which they hailed their growing partnership and doubled down on their commitment to broaden ties based on respect, trust and good neighborliness.
They also underlined the need for respecting territorial integrity and observing sovereignty and immunity of borders of the states and their commitment to peaceful resolution of conflicts in the region.
They also agreed to unlock their full financial, trade and economic potentials to boost joint projects in energy, transportation, banking, communications, and technology, agriculture and environment sectors.
Stepping up their joint cooperation in fighting terrorism, extremism, separatism and organized crimes including drugs, arms and human trafficking and crimes against cultural and historical heritage and cybercrimes were the other key issues listed in the joint statement.
Upon arrival in Baku, Zarif met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. This was the Iranian top diplomat’s third trip to the country over the past six months.
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