Azerbaijan's and Iran's foreign ministries reviewed plans to step up efforts to execute agreements and cooperation projects.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian thanked his Azerbaijani colleague Jeyhun Bayramov on the 30th anniversary of the two nations' diplomatic relations in a phone conversation.

Given the increased travel, Amir-Abdollahian advocated increasing the number of flights between Iran and Azerbaijan, as well as restoring joint land border crossings that had been closed for many months owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

Amir-Abdollahian urged for the implementation of past agreements in bilateral negotiations and collaborative building projects between the two nations. He also stated that his government is open to expanding bilateral economic and energy ties.

As European countries seek to diversify their energy sources, gas flow from Azerbaijan and Iran to Europe via pipelines across Turkish territory is anticipated to grow.

Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan agreed to transfer specified amounts of gas in late November. The open-ended deal covers yearly Turkmen gas supplies to Azerbaijan across Iran's borders of up to 2 billion cubic metres (bcm). Iran will receive gas from Turkmenistan and transfer an equal quantity to Azerbaijan at the Astara border under the exchange agreement. Under the swap arrangement, Iran will get enough gas from Turkmenistan to meet the demands of at least five northern regions. According to reports, Azerbaijan would get 5-6 million cubic metres of fresh energy every day.

Meanwhile, Jeyhun Bayramov underlined Iran's Roads and Urban Development Minister Rostam Ghasemi's visit to Baku on January 25, describing it as a proof of the two nations' excellent ties. He also underscored Azerbaijan's willingness to carry out business deals.

Rostam Ghasemi met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, who remembered his meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in November 2021. President Aliyev remarked at the time that it marked the beginning of a "new chapter" in the two nations' ties and expressed optimism that Iranian firms would assist in the rehabilitation of Azerbaijan's freed areas.

Officials from Iran and Azerbaijan are actively working on the development of the North-South transportation corridor, the Khudafarin Hydroelectric Power Stations, and a new transit road bridge across the Astarachay River on the two nations' border near the Caspian Sea.

Iran offered to Azerbaijan and Georgia a plan to improve regional connectivity by constructing a new transit corridor that would run across the two South Caucasus nations and connect the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. A deal was struck with Azerbaijani and Georgian transportation officials in December 2021 to conduct a test run on this transit route by March 2022.