The Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran hosted a reception on the occasion of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan, the anniversary of the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Among participants in the event was the Iranian minister of communications and information technology, co-chair of Azerbaijani-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission on economic, trade and humanitarian cooperation Mahmoud Vaezi, officials of Iranian foreign ministry and MPs, Azertac reported.
Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Bunyad Huseynov, addressing the event, spoke of the history of establishment of the first democratic and parliamentary republic in the Moslem East founded on May 28, 1918, according to ISNA.
“This date is one of the glorious pages in the country’s history. This significant date is annually celebrated as Republic Day in Azerbaijan,” he said.
The envoy further added that the two countries enjoy highly developed political, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations, have signed some 50 documents on cooperation. The trade turnover between the countries has increased by 75 percent.
Mahmoud Vaezi, in turn, expressed hope the bilateral ties between the two friendly counties would further develop to contribute the historically established relations.
May 28, 1918, marks the establishment of the ADR, the first independent republic and democratic state on the East. Although it existed for only 23 months, it brought about great progress in foreign policy, and introduced Azerbaijan to the international community.
To appreciate the historical significance of this event not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the entire Islamic world, it is enough to recall that at that time there were only seven independent Muslim states in the world - Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, Emirate of Bukhara, and three small monarchies of Inner Arabia.
Azerbaijan, which gained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, celebrates May 28 annually as the Republic Day.