TEHRAN- The 12th meeting of Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Committee was held on Tuesday morning at the place of Iranian Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs in Tehran, Shada news agency reported.

Noting that the final achievements of the meeting will be officially announced on Wednesday when the event wraps up, Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Masoud Karbasian evaluated the conducted mutual negotiations and the reached agreements beneficial for both sides.

Karbasian, who made the remarks on the sidelines of the meeting, added that some fruitful talks have also been held on common banking ties.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev, for his turn, told reporters that thanks to the political desires of the two countries’ presidents, Iran-Azerbaijan trade has witnessed an increase of 20 percent in 2017 in comparison with the preceding year.

President Hassan Rouhani met with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev to discuss expansion of bilateral relations on November 1, 2017.

Rouhani described economic relations between the two neighboring countries as “well-developed” and “well-functioning”.

Iran is ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan in industrial and agricultural sectors, as well as extra-territorial farming, oil and gas swap, and exploration and exploitation of oil in the Caspian Sea, Rouhani said at the time.

He also underlined the necessity of Iran-Azerbaijan cooperation in transit and transportation.

Aliyev, for his part, said, “The visit and constant contacts between the high ranking officials of Iran and Azerbaijan indicate that the two countries' relations and cooperation are progressing well.”

The Azeri president expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan.

HJ/MA

PHOTO: Azerbaijan's Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev (L) and Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Masoud Karbasian met in Tehran on Tuesday.