Tweet
Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey sign Nakhchivan declaration
Wed 07 March 2012 12:16 GMT | 12:16 Local Time
[image: 82517]
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey have pledged to
further cooperation in a declaration signed in the Azerbaijani exclave of
Nakhchivan.
The ministers - Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan, Ali Akbar Salehi of Iran
and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey - first held one-to-one talks in Nakhchivan
and then met together on Wednesday.
In the declaration, adopted at the end of their talks, the ministers
express their backing for further discussions of important regional and
international issues and welcome Azerbaijan's election as a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council, APA reported.
They stress the the importance of solving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh with respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity
and international law.
The ministers agree in the declaration to hold meetings of subcommittees on
different areas of cooperation. A subcommittee on trade, industry and
investment will meet in Turkey in May, a subcommittee on transport will
meet in Azerbaijan in June, a subcommittee on energy will meet in Iran in
September and a subcommittee on tourism and culture will meet in Iran in
October.
The ministers note the potential to link the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway to
the Nakhchivan-Julfa-Tabriz railway, two routes currently under
construction.
The declaration also contains a pledge to consider easing the visa regime.
'Very good, informative' meeting
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov described the meeting as
very important and effective for all three countries.
"It was a very good meeting, informative," he told a press conference with
the two other ministers."We covered global issues and signed the trilateral
declaration."
Meetings in the same trilateral format will be held by the countries'
ministers of tourism and by other ministers too, Mammadyarov said.
The next meeting of the three foreign ministers will be held in the city of
Van in eastern Turkey in September.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the press conference that
today's meeting had a positive effect on regional relations.
"Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran have already taken significant steps towards
deepening relations. A separate meeting of businessmen from the three
countries is planned alongside the meeting of ministers in Van. Customs
procedures will be reviewed here as well," Davutoglu said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the three countries
were linked by history.
"We are three states, three bodies with one spirit. This is, of course,
reflected in the agreements among all three countries. We will continue our
consultations on a regular basis," he told the press conference.
The Iranian minister said that the three countries had a combined
population of more than 170 million which created a big market.
News.Az
Wed 07 March 2012 12:16 GMT | 12:16 Local Time
[image: 82517]
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey have pledged to
further cooperation in a declaration signed in the Azerbaijani exclave of
Nakhchivan.
The ministers - Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan, Ali Akbar Salehi of Iran
and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey - first held one-to-one talks in Nakhchivan
and then met together on Wednesday.
In the declaration, adopted at the end of their talks, the ministers
express their backing for further discussions of important regional and
international issues and welcome Azerbaijan's election as a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council, APA reported.
They stress the the importance of solving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh with respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity
and international law.
The ministers agree in the declaration to hold meetings of subcommittees on
different areas of cooperation. A subcommittee on trade, industry and
investment will meet in Turkey in May, a subcommittee on transport will
meet in Azerbaijan in June, a subcommittee on energy will meet in Iran in
September and a subcommittee on tourism and culture will meet in Iran in
October.
The ministers note the potential to link the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway to
the Nakhchivan-Julfa-Tabriz railway, two routes currently under
construction.
The declaration also contains a pledge to consider easing the visa regime.
'Very good, informative' meeting
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov described the meeting as
very important and effective for all three countries.
"It was a very good meeting, informative," he told a press conference with
the two other ministers."We covered global issues and signed the trilateral
declaration."
Meetings in the same trilateral format will be held by the countries'
ministers of tourism and by other ministers too, Mammadyarov said.
The next meeting of the three foreign ministers will be held in the city of
Van in eastern Turkey in September.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the press conference that
today's meeting had a positive effect on regional relations.
"Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran have already taken significant steps towards
deepening relations. A separate meeting of businessmen from the three
countries is planned alongside the meeting of ministers in Van. Customs
procedures will be reviewed here as well," Davutoglu said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the three countries
were linked by history.
"We are three states, three bodies with one spirit. This is, of course,
reflected in the agreements among all three countries. We will continue our
consultations on a regular basis," he told the press conference.
The Iranian minister said that the three countries had a combined
population of more than 170 million which created a big market.
News.Az