Zaman, Turkey
Aug 6 2004

Khatemi Conveys Friendship in Azerbaijan

Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi started a two-day visit to
Azerbaijan yesterday.

Khatemi is met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev yesterday.
After the meeting, an agreement was signed addressing a range of
issues including a natural gas transfer to Nahcivan, the exchange of
electric energy, collaboration on highway and railway ransportation,
a mutual relaxation of visa application processing, co-operation on
Caspian Sea related subjects, customs control, the prevention of
double taxation, the fight against terrorism, and smuggling and
organized crime.

Aliyev made a speech after the agreement was signed in which he
stressed that Azerbaijanis are for improving mutual relations and
recalled Iran’s support to Azerbaijan on the issue of
Nagharno-Karabagh’s Armenian occupation.

Khatemi said that Iranians regard the border as a border of
friendship and fraternity and that an Azarbaijani consulate will be
opened in Tabriz shortly. Khatemi conveyed his wish that the
Nagharno-Karabagh issue be solved by peaceful channels.

During his first visit to Azerbaijan, Khatemi will visit the Speaker
of the National Assembly, Murtuz Aleskerov, and make a speech to the
parliament. Khatemi expectedly will go to Armenia on Sunday (August
8) for a two-day official visit.

The last time an Iranian president visited Azerbaijan was in 1993
when Hashimi Rafsancani was in power.