On 25 January, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev received Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif where the issue of Iran’s involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh's restoration was discussed.
Zarif expressed Iranian companies' readiness to get involved in the restoration activities. “These are areas… [of] priority and our companies are ready to engage... We look forward to engaging in those areas from the South-North Corridor to the South-West Corridor, to other power production, energy, Khudafarin, Qiz Qalasi, other probably good areas of cooperation. And we are very happy that during the visit by your officials to Iran these projects moved very rapidly and now we can have a common border, a much longer common border of friendship,” Zarif said.
Aliyev on his behalf stressed his satisfaction with the level of Azerbaijani-Iranian cooperation. He said that a new regional situation opened up new opportunities for private investors and government agencies. Aliyev also spoke on the successful movement of work related to the Ordubad-Maraza power station and mentioned a new bridge across the Araz River.
Zarif also commented on the initiative of Azerbaijan and Turkey to form a six-country cooperation platform on the Caucasus following the end of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh war (Caucasus Watch reported). “I am taking up your suggestion of 3+3 and I will be visiting all the five countries [Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Georgia and Armenia]. And I want to make sure that the vision for peace that you presented will be discussed and will come to fruition because it is in the interest of all of us in the region that the countries in the region could cooperate with each other,” Zarif said. He also stressed that Iran could help the Azerbaijani citizens to repopulate the Karabakh lands.
After the meeting with Aliyev, Zarif met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. The meeting with the participation of delegations from both sides primarily focused on the bilateral cooperation agenda, the current situation in the region, the implementation of the trilateral statements of 10 November and cooperation in international organisations. It was noted that new opportunities for cooperation have been opened up in the region, including the prospects for the development of North-South and South-West transport and transit corridors.
A month earlier, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani emphasised that the settlement of disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over areas surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh region enabled Iran and Azerbaijan to complete key hydroelectric projects on the border. It was also reported that Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian reached a final agreement with Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev on how the two countries should proceed with plans to construct two major power plants on the Khoda Afarin Dam, adding that the two sides had agreed to settle long-standing financial issues regarding the dam and its construction (Caucasus Watch reported).
