The presence of the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan to inaugurate this huge dam is a sign of political will in senior officials of Iran and Azerbaijan to strengthen their relations and shows a high level of trust exists between the two sides.
QizQalasi Dam is the third joint dam project between Iran and Azerbaijan after the Aras and KhodaAfarin dams. It has been built by Iranian engineers after some two decades of work and is located 12 km from the KhodaAfarin dam and 210 km northeast of the provincial capital of Tabriz in Iran. The dam is expected to supply some 2 billion cubic meters of water per year from the border river of Aras for irrigation purposes for 74,000 hectares of lands in the downstream of the dam in East Azerbaijan province. That comes as another 62,000 hectares of lands can access the supply of water in the neighboring Ardabil province.
Two 40-megawatt power plants on both sides of the dam, which are in the process of equipment purchase and installation, can boost Iran’s electricity supply and exports to the cities of Nakhchivan and Karabakh in Azerbaijan in the future, while they also improve supply of electricity to Iranian border cities in East Azerbaijan and Ardabil.
After some thirty years of insecurity and war in border areas between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the two have recognized each other's territorial integrity, resulting in peace and tranquility in the region.
Iran's relations with the Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia will expand and all Caucasus countries will benefit from increased security and peace in this region. The inauguration of the QizQalasi Dam is a message of friendship and brotherhood between Iran and Azerbaijan and shows there is a will in the two governments to strengthen their relations.
However, as it has been the case in the past, some extra-regional factors such as the usurping Zionist regime as well as bankrupt nationalists and media outlets depending on them have resorted to tactics, especially in cyber space, to destroy friendly relations between the two neighbors. It is expected that officials of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, who are well aware of such destructive tactics, work for further development of strategic relations between the two by diligently taking care of the progress achieved in bilateral ties.
Certainly, the inauguration of QizQalasi Dam and the planned reopening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran will be a big obstacle for those enemies seeking to undermine relations between Iran and Azerbaijan. The construction of a joint railway project in the future can also serve the economic interests of the two nations.
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