MNA � Iran�s Road Minister Mohammad Eslami informed on Saturday that Baku-Astara highway in Azerbaijan is to get linked to Rasht-Ardabil highway in Iran.

�Azerbaijan has contrasted a highway that links Baku to Astara,� he said, �The road which has shortened the distance between the two cities from five hours to 2.5 hours is to get linked to Ardabil-Rasht highway in Iran.�

�Agreements between the two sides are made to include construction of a bridge in this project as well,� he added.

Referring to the 18th Summit of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Azerbaijan recently, the minister said that the two sides have had fruitful negotiations during the event.

�During the event, the Islamic Republic hold talks with Azerbaijan in three main sectors including railway, which is about connecting Iran�s Astara to Azerbaijan through railway, construction of Astara- Astara terminal, and Baku-Rasht freeway,� Eslami described.

Regarding the mutual trade volume between the two sides, the Iranian minister informed that the volume shows a growth of 70 percent year-on-year and plans are to increase mutual cooperation in future, he added.

On October 24, President Hassan Rouhani expressed deep satisfaction with the growing ties between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, saying the neighbors� relations have reached �a satisfactory� level.

�Further expansion of the ties between Iran and Azerbaijan will benefit the nations and the region,� Rouhani also said in a meeting with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev in Baku on the sidelines of NAM meeting.

Referring to the effective measures by the Tehran-Baku joint economic commission in the past years, the Iranian president said, �The two sides have held good cooperation in different industrial spheres, especially the auto sector.�

�Iran is ready to build power plants in the Republic of Azerbaijan,� he added.

Aliyev also described Rouhani�s visit to Baku as an opportunity to expand the economic ties between the two countries.

He hailed the 70% growth in the Tehran-Baku ties, saying such improvement is so tangible in the energy, banking, industrial, and transportation fields.