Tasnim � Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will start his official visit to neighboring Azerbaijan on Thursday to participate in a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) due to be held later this week, a senior official at the presidential office said.

In remarks on Wednesday, Alireza Moezzi said Rouhani, at the head of a high-ranking delegation, will travel to Baku on Thursday at the official invitation of his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev.

He added that the president is slated to address the 18th NAM Summit, slated for October 25-26 in the Azeri capital, and explain the Islamic Republic�s positions on important regional and international issues.

Rouhani will also hold a bilateral meeting with Aliyev, in which major issues surrounding Tehran-Baku relations and the process of implementation of joint agreements will be discussed, Moezzi said.

The preparatory senior officials meeting of the NAM summit was held on October 21-22 and the two-day preparatory ministerial meeting began on Wednesday.

Host Azerbaijan will formally take over the chairmanship of NAM for the next three years at the Baku Summit.