TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has sent congratulatory messages to Ethiopia and Azerbaijan to congratulate them on national occasions. 

In a message congratulating the National Day of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the president expressed hope that bilateral relations and the development of relations between the two countries would develop, according to the Iranian presidency website.

“I hope that this year, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the implementation of the Friendship Agreement between Iran and Ethiopia, we will see the development of bilateral relations and the development of relations by taking advantage of the high capacities of the two countries,” Rouhani told his Ethiopian counterpart Sahle-Work Zewde.

He added, “I wish Your Excellency health and success and the people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia prosperity and felicity.”

In a separate message, Rouhani felicitated Azerbaijan on the independence anniversary. “I express my sincere congratulations on the occasion of the anniversary of the independence of your country to Your Excellency, the government and the friendly and brotherly nation of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Rouhani told Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

“As two close neighbors relying on historical, cultural and religious ties since the independence of that country, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan have shown high-level brotherly relations with good neighborliness. I am confident that in the future, Iran and Azerbaijan will move towards strengthening the relations between the two nations as inspired by the rich cultural and common historical background. I wish Your Excellency health and success and the honorable people of the Republic of Azerbaijan prosperity and felicity,” the Iranian president continued. 

Rouhani’s message to Azerbaijan came after a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the south Caucasus country during which he held talks with Aliyev.

In the Tuesday meeting held during Zarif’s visit to Azerbaijan, the two sides expressed content with the growing trend of the enhancement of bilateral ties in recent years, calling for promotion of mutual relations, according to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Also on the agenda of the talks were the latest developments pertaining to Tehran-Baku relations, joint economic projects, Iran’s participation in operations to clear mines and reconstruct liberated areas, the latest developments related to a statement on a ceasefire between Armenia and the Azerbaijan Republic and the recent border tensions between the two countries, communication corridors, rail links between Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia, the necessity of implementing a six-way regional cooperation initiative along with other issues of mutual interest, the statement said. 

After Azerbaijan, Zarif paid a visit to Armenia where he held talks with the country’s political leaders. In Yerevan, Zarif told acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that he “had a very detailed and meaningful conversation with the president of Azerbaijan,” according to a statement issued by the office of the Armenian prime minister.

Zarif’s visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia came against a background of heightened border tensions between Baku and Yerevan.