The total weight of the aid is 82 tons. It includes foodstuffs, medicines and medical supplies. The main part of the cargo is foodstuffs – 76 tons. The delivery is carried out on the eve of Novruz, which is celebrated on March 20, so the cargo includes festive treats,” the report says. Report.az.
The decision on the delivery was made after a telephone conversation conversation the leaders of Azerbaijan and Iran on March 8. Baku has previously sent a humanitarian cargo, but the current shipment is much larger than the previous ones in terms of volume and assortment.
Iranian ambassador to Baku Mojtaba Demirchilu expressed gratitude for the assistance: “Ramadan and Novruz holidays are ahead. Providing assistance on such a day is a positive step”.
Farid Shafiyev, head of the board of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, said the delivery does not pursue political goals.
“Especially, Iran has Azerbaijani and Azerbaijani-speaking population. This factor is certainly taken into account when providing humanitarian aid to Iran. Also in this case, the factor of Novruz holiday, on the eve of which this aid is sent, played a role.”
It should be recalled that the drone strike on the territory of Nakhijevan caused tension in Iran-Azerbaijan relations. According to Khalil Shirgolami, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia, the situation has been “rectified”.
“The initial reaction of the Republic of Azerbaijan was emotional, hasty and inappropriate. Logic suggests that an investigation should be conducted first and only after receiving its results should a certain position be taken. Of course, very soon they realized the fallacy of their position and haste and tried to correct the situation,” Shirgolami told News.am.
Correcting the Azerbaijani people with Navrzuom, President Ilham Aliyev noted that in the rituals of this holiday reflect “the optimistic outlook of our people, their boundless love for nature, high moral criteria and the brightest hopes for the future.”
Nowruz is considered one of the oldest holidays of the peoples of Central Asia and the Middle East. UNESCO has included it in the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Its name sounds differently in Iranian and Turkic-speaking regions, but it symbolizes the same thing – spring renewal, the beginning of new life.
