On this one-day visit, Rouhani and 4 other heads of states from Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan will sign a joint statement, as well as several other important documents on strategic cooperation in the Caspian region. Rouhani is also scheduled to hold a number of meetings with leaders of the five Caspian Sea littoral countries.
The first meeting of the Caspian states’ leaders was held in Ashgabat in 2002, and the other summits were convened in Tehran, Baku and Astrakhan.
The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world and accounts for 40 to 44 percent of the total lacustrine waters of the world. The coastlines of the Caspian are shared by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif heading a politico-legal delegation is also in Kazakhstan’s Aktau to take part at the Caspian littoral states’ ministerial meeting.
Rouhani will return to Tehran Sunday evening.
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