Iran, Armenia Sign 2 MoUs to Boost Economic Ties

The officials of Iran and Armenia signed an MoU to increase bilateral cooperation between the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments in Tehran on Wednesday.

Also, the two countries signed another MoU to promote interactions and cooperation between the Supreme Council of Free Trade, Industrial and Special Economic Zones of Iran and Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Tehran this morning, at the head of a high-ranking delegation, for a two-day official visit intended to further bolster ties between the two neighboring countries.

Earlier in mid-February, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, discussed the latest developments in the Caucasus, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

During the meeting between Zarif and Mnatsakanyan, the two top diplomats talked about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 55th Munich Security Conference in Germany.

The two sides also discussed ways of expanding mutual ties in different fields, especially in the banking, energy, transportation, and business sectors.

Back in late January, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani officially invited new Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan to visit Tehran, in a bid to further bolster parliamentary relations and bilateral ties between the two neighboring countries.

The invitation letter was conveyed by Iranian Ambassador to Yerevan Seyed Kazem Sajjadi, in a meeting with Mirzoyan.

During the meeting, Sajjadi hailed the two countries’ friendly and historical relations, calling for parliaments’ efforts and parliamentary friendship groups to promote all-out ties.

He also expressed Iran’s willingness to promote cooperation with Armenia in the fields of energy, transportation and tourism and small industries, which was welcomed by the Armenian side.

Mirzoyan, for his part, welcomed promoting parliamentary relations and voiced his country’s readiness for boosting all-out cooperation in all fields.

He also thanked for the invitation and said that he will visit Iran at the earliest.

Iran and Armenia are two neighboring countries with broad range of areas of cooperation from energy to tourism and culture.

Armenian Ambassador to Tehran Artashes Tumanyan said on December 17 that his country is after importing more gas from Iran, voicing Yerevan’s readiness to increase electricity export to Iran.

Addressing a meeting themed “Iran-Armenia Ties, Opportunities and Challenges”, he added that recent political development in Yerevan have had no impact on the country’s foreign policy.

He also voiced his country’s readiness for increasing exports of electricity to Iran, hoping that the two countries’ exchanges would rise in near future.

As to Washington’s pressure on Yerevan to reduce relations with Iran, he said, “The US has talked with Armenia about Tehran-Yerevan ties, as they have understood that Tehran relations are of high significance for us.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of Iran-Armenia Friendship Society Mohammad Reza Damavandi complained that despite high historic and political relations in the cultural and media fields, the two countries have failed to widen their relations to desirable levels.

While Tehran and Yerevan have set a target of one billion dollars, they have had only 200 to 250 million dollars in trade exchanges, he said.

Earlier in min-August, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri announced that Tehran and Yerevan are currently working hard to finalize implementation of the third power transmission line from Iran to Armenia.

“Taking timely measures for implementation of the third power transmission line from Iran to Armenia is one of the most important parts of Iran-Armenia bilateral and multilateral cooperation,” Haeri said after his meeting with Armenian Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Artur Grigoryan in Yerevan.

The Iranian deputy energy minister said that during his meeting with Grigoryan, the Armenian minister underlined that the importance of finalizing the project of construction of the third high-voltage Iran-Armenia power transmission line.

Grigoryan, who serves also as a co-chairman of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission, noted that in the context of intensification of economic cooperation between Tehran and Yerevan, construction of a high-voltage power transmission line between Armenia and Georgia can play a serious role.

The sides also exchanged views on the agreements reached at the 15th meeting of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission held in Yerevan in 2018. It was stressed that the intergovernmental commission has a special mission in deepening and expanding trade and economic relations between the countries.

Both sides stressed the importance of the need to intensify mutual visits, which help find effective solutions to problems arising in the implementation of joint projects.

Iran and Armenia signed four agreements in the fields of economy, customs and sports agreements in February 2018.

The four cooperation agreements in the fields of economy, customs and sports were inked at the closing ceremony of 15th Summit of Joint Commission of Iran and Armenia Cooperation.

Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian had placed special emphasis on the necessity of steering public and private sectors to increase transaction volume and joint investment.

"Fortunately, the 15th meeting of Joint Technical, Economic and Cultural Commission between Iran and Armenia was held in an amicable and peaceful environment," he said, adding, “I hope that mutual cooperation would be boosted between the two countries in the best possible form in future."

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