Deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian Sea littoral states have discussed expansion of economic cooperation at a meeting in Baku, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran believes in the Caspian Sea to be the Sea of peace and friendship and stability, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour told in Baku April 5.

He also added that the participants have agreed to hold the next round of the meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states in Tehran in late May.

Rahimpour further said that the Caspian states have agreed on several issues regarding the environment, security and convention on Caspian Sea status.

Deputy foreign ministers of the five littoral states - Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran and Turkmenistan - have gathered at the 39th meeting of the working group on determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan on March.

The Caspian Sea plays an important role in transportation corridors and is an important part of international and regional projects.

The Caspian Sea states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran) signed a Framework Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November of 2003.