Removing Trade Barriers and Easing Border Crossings Between Gilan and Azerbaijan Emphasized at Interior Ministers' Meeting

At the meeting between Iran's Minister of Interior and Azerbaijan's Minister of Interior, attended by the governors of Gilan and Ardabil, emphasis was placed on removing trade obstacles, facilitating border crossings, and developing economic and tourism cooperation.

In the meeting between the Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the presence of the governors of Gilan and Ardabil, emphasis was placed on removing trade barriers, facilitating border traffic and developing economic and tourism cooperation.

According to the report of Ambassador Arjan Gilan, in the meeting of Iskandar Momeni, Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with Velayat Ayuzaf, Minister of Interior of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which was held in the presence of Hadi Haqshanas, the Governor of Gilan, the necessity of developing bilateral cooperation in the fields of security, economy, tourism and facilitating border traffic was emphasized. In this meeting, Dr. Momeni considered the trip to the Republic of Azerbaijan as a turning point for the development of the relations between the two countries, and referring to the common land and sea borders and the significant movement of the nationals of the two countries, he stated that the development of economic and tourism relations is achieved in the shadow of stable security. Emphasizing the connection between the security of the two countries, the Minister of the Interior stated: the security of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the security of Iran, and reciprocally, the security of Iran is also connected with the security of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Therefore, in the first step, the two countries need a memorandum of understanding to lay the groundwork for achieving a security agreement, which can be realized through close and continuous interactions between the two ministries.

Referring to the cross-border nature of cyber crimes and drug trafficking, he added: The Islamic Republic of Iran has sacrificed many martyrs in the fight against drug trafficking and discovers hundreds of tons of drugs every year. Iran is ready to develop joint cooperation with the Republic of Azerbaijan in the field of dealing with organized crimes, cyber crimes and threats caused by drug trafficking. Dr. Momeni also pointed to the presence of more than 6 million foreign nationals in Iran and stated: Some of these nationals enter the migration routes with the aim of passing through the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkey and leaving for Europe, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is also trying to prevent illegal immigration by taking necessary measures.

The Minister of Interior emphasized the need to speed up the interactions between the two countries to fight crime and criminals and said: The Islamic Republic of Iran is also ready to cooperate with the Republic of Azerbaijan in the field of extradition of wanted criminals. He also considered facilitating passenger and commercial border traffic and utilizing the capacity of provincial diplomacy as one of the important axes for the development of bilateral relations. In this meeting, the Governor of Gilan, by explaining the capacities of the country's border provinces, presented his views and suggestions in the field of regional cooperation development, removing barriers to trade and border traffic, expanding tourism and taking advantage of investment opportunities with the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Developing interactions between border provinces, facilitating commercial exchanges and strengthening economic and tourism connections can be the basis for improving the relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan and making more effective use of the common capacities of the two countries.