Governor: We want Ardabil and Sumgayit to be sister cities

Baku. 19 October. REPORT.AZ/ Iranian province of Ardabil is interested in strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan.

Report informs, Governor of Ardabil province Majid Khodabakhsh said at a press conference.

Speaking about the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations, M.Khodabakhsh reminded that presidents of two countries met 7 times in 3 years: "This shows the interest of our ties".

He said that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Ardabil has grown over the past year by 55% and amounted to 57 mln USD.

Governor noted that during his visit to Azerbaijan in addition to the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, a delegation from Ardabil also met with the ministers of economy and industry, agriculture, as well as emergency situations: "We also visited Sumgait and met with the chief executive. We want Ardabil and Sumgayit to become sister cities. We discussed cooperation in the field of metallurgy and agriculture. We could also export our potatoes to Azerbaijan."

The governor also said that during the visit the issue of energy cooperation discussed: "We have hot springs, which produce electricity. Azerbaijan could buy our electricity for Baku and Nakhchivan."

He also noted the possibility of cooperation in the field of medicine and health care, as well tourism.