President Rouhani leaves New York for Astrakhan

He is to attend the fourth summit of the organization also attended by Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The three previous summit meetings were held in Askhabad in 2002, Tehran in 2007 and Baku in 2011. According to Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei, the president is scheduled to address the summit and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A news conference is also on his agenda during his stay, Sanaei said, adding that two memoranda of understanding on fisheries and emergency aid in Caspian Sea will be signed during the meeting. Rouhani is accompanied by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and ministers of interior as well as road and urban development, he said, IRNA reports. The participants in the summit will ink agreements on preventing emergency situation in the littoral states, protecting and making optimal use of Caspian Sea water resources and Caspian Sea meteorology and hydrology during the upcoming event, Sanaei said. President Rouhani travelled to New York to attend the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.