Iran, Armenia Explore Avenues for Promoting Economic Cooperation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asian and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour conferred with Armenian foreign and energy ministers on ways to develop economic cooperation between the two countries.
In an official visit to the neighboring Armenia, Rahimpour held a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan in the capital city of Yerevan.
Rahimpour and Nalbandyan discussed the promotion of parliamentary cooperation, ways to develop economic and trade collaborations, and the implementation of joint plans in the fields of transportation and energy.
Iran is implementing numerous projects in Armenia and hopes that they would enter the operational stage as soon as possible, Rahimpour said at the meeting.
He also held a meeting with Armenia's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ervand Zakharyan, during which the two sides conferred on a plan to construct the third power transmission line between the two neighboring countries.
They agreed that the operation to implement the third line start within the next 45 days and finish by 2018.
Once the project is completed, the exchange of power between the two countries would witness a threefold increase.
“Currently, the amount of energy exchange between Iran and Armenia is more than one billion kwh per year, which we hope would considerably rise once the third power transmission line is operationalized,” Zakharyan said at the meeting.
In May 2009, Iran and Armenia started trading gas and electricity. According to a contract previously signed between the two countries, Iran was planned to supply gas to Armenia until 2029 with or without exchanging electricity with the country.
