Iran president heads to Azeri capital for trilateral summit

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has traveled to the Azeri capital, Baku, where he is scheduled to take part in a trilateral summit with his Russian and Azeri counterparts.

On Sunday, Rouhani left Tehran for Baku for a two-day visit at the head of a high-ranking delegation, including a number of ministers and other officials.

Parviz Esmaeili, the president’s deputy chief of staff for communications and information, said during the Monday summit, Rouhani will hold talks with the Azeri and Russian presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin, over trilateral cooperation in various fields, including commerce, energy, communication as well as transport and transit.

According to the official, the three sides will also hold talks on environmental issues as well as the fight against terrorism.

The Iranian chief executive will further hold a bilateral meeting with Putin in Baku to exchange views on Tehran-Moscow relations and other issues of mutual interest, Esmaeili added.

Rouhani will also sit down for talks with Aliyev to discuss the process of implementing bilateral agreements as well as more cooperation in different spheres.

Baku summit ‘of high importance’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) speaks before heading to the Azeri capital city of Baku on August 7, 2016. (By IRNA)
Prior to his departure, Rouhani described the Baku summit as “highly important,” saying the discussions will focus on the North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) – a ship, rail and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia.

The summit is a continuation of previous gatherings in Tehran and Inceburun, Rouhani added.

Touching on his upcoming meeting with Putin, he said, “In recent years, Iran and Russia have moved towards [forging] strategic relations, and had good cooperation on different regional and international issues.”
In April, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Azeri counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Elmar Mammadyarov, held talks in Baku on strengthening security, political and economic cooperation between the three countries.

The three foreign ministers also discussed the fight against terrorism and extremism in the region, particularly in Syria.