TEHRAN – In late March President Hassan Rouhani made trips to the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

During his visit to Baku on March 28, Iran and Azerbaijan signed eight cooperation documents and memoranda of understanding (MOUs).
 
The agreements, signed at the presence of Rouhani and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, included cooperation in family and women’s affairs, youth and sport, cultural interchange, health, oil, industry, economy, and joint ventures for constructing Rasht-Astara Railway.

During a joint press conference with Aliyev, Rouhani said the cooperation agreements would benefit not only the two countries but also the entire region and the wider world.

For his part, the Azeri president called for expansion of economic and trade ties between the two neighbors.  

Prior to his visit to Azerbaijan, the Iranian president visited Turkmenistan on March 27, holding talks with his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

High-level delegates from Iran and Turkmenistan signed 13 MOUs.

After signing the pacts, Rouhani said Turkmenistan is a friendly and brotherly country to Iran and stressed that the two countries must take advantage of the opportunities and potentials to deepen relations in various fields.

“We are determined to take the best advantage of all the existing potentials for deepening and developing relations between the two countries.”

Berdimuhamedow also said, “Deepening relations between Iran and Turkmenistan is very important for us and I want to take this opportunity to appreciate Dr. Rouhani for his efforts for promoting cooperation”.