TEHRAN - Iran sees its ties with Azerbaijan as those "of special importance," and seeks to expand them in all areas, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday.

When meeting with visiting Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, Pezeshkian described bilateral ties as "brotherly, friendly, and being based on religious and kinship bonds," which have continued and will continue in the future, according to a statement published by Pezeshkian's office.

Promoting relations and interactions with neighboring and Muslim states is a "principled policy" for Iran, and Azerbaijan has a special place in its foreign policy, Pezeshkian said, adding that more and deeper bilateral cooperation will turn Iran and Azerbaijan into strategic partners.

For his part, Mustafayev said Azerbaijan has spared no effort over the past decades to develop relations with Iran.

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The two countries' religious and cultural commonalities as well as "friendly and brotherly" relations are the most important factors and motivation for boosting and developing bilateral ties, he said.

Azerbaijan seeks to establish strategic cooperation with Iran and further expand bilateral economic and trade ties, he said.

"We maintain that the resolution of regional problems will be possible only by the region's countries and foreign states' presence will be of no help to us in this area," he noted.

Mustafayev, heading a high-ranking Azerbaijani economic delegation, is in Iran for the 16th meeting of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission scheduled for Wednesday.