Tuesday, October 1 2019 13:06

ArmInfo.Relations between Armenia and Iran should be away from geopolitical influences. The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated this at a meeting  with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who arrived in Yerevan to  participate in an expanded meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic  Council.

According to the press service of the Government of Armenia, ArmInfo  welcomed the visit of the distinguished guest to Yerevan, in  particular, said: "The relations between our countries have been and  remain good. Our position is that our relations with Iran should be  as far from geopolitical as possible influences, because we are  immediate neighbors and have many common interests, and we must  cooperate for many centuries and millennia. "

At the same time, the Armenian Prime Minister pointed out that this  is the first visit of Rowhan to Armenia after the political changes  that took place in the republic. He also emphasized that in Armenia  they attach great importance to relations with friendly countries and  neighbors.  The interlocutors mutually pointed out the importance of  holding systematic meetings of the bilateral intergovernmental  commission, during which agreements were reached on the development  of economic contacts between the two countries. Pashinyan emphasized  that Armenia highly values Iran's balanced policy on the settlement  of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  In his Rohani, he emphasized that  in Iran they attach importance to the development and expansion of  relations with Armenia in all areas. "We are ready to continue  working with your government in the development and implementation of  new projects, expanding the scope of the electricity program in  exchange for gas. At the same time, we are ready to implement  projects in Armenia to produce electricity from gas, wind and sun. We  are interested in implementing regional projects in the field of  energy, and the development of infrastructures, "the Iranian  President said, adding that the Iranian side is interested in  developing cooperation with the RA also in the field of transport  infrastructures, m. through involvement in road construction projects  implemented in the republic.  Pashinyan welcomed the readiness of the  Iranian side to expand the project "gas in exchange for electricity".  Rouhani and Pashinyan instructed the officials of the governments of  the two countries to develop and submit proposals on expanding  cooperation in the above field in a short time.  The parties also  touched upon the railway sector, as well as issues of cooperation in  such areas as high technology, customs, science, tourism.  Rouhani  emphasized that the volume of trade between the two countries since  the moment Pashinyan came to power has increased significantly, and  joint programs continue to be successfully implemented. The Iranian  President added that they are also ready to discuss the  implementation of the Meghrinskaya Hydroelectric Power Station  construction program, increasing bilateral investments, as well as  trade through free trade zones.  The interlocutors also exchanged  views on transit routes connecting the Persian Gulf with the Black  Sea.  Pashinyan emphasized that the implementation of this program  meets the strategic interests of our country, and Armenia is ready to  take practical steps in this direction.  During the meeting, the  parties also discussed other issues of regional importance and  touched on the Karabakh conflict settlement process. The Prime  Minister thanked the Iranian President for maintaining a balanced  position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. For his part, Hassan  Rohani stressed the importance of resolving the conflict through  peaceful negotiations, taking into account the positions and opinions  of all parties to the conflict.  Note that back in 2017, Iran  proposed to the countries of the region, Armenia and Georgia, to  build a corridor between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea. Within  the framework of the project, it is planned to organize the arrival  of Iranian goods by road to the territory of Armenia (Eraskh), from  where by rail to the Georgian ports on the Black Sea, and from there  by ferry to Europe.  Today, the two countries are discussing a  project to build the 3rd Armenia-Iran high-voltage line. Note that  Armenia implements barter a gas-for-electricity deal with Iran at the  rate of 1 cubic meter of blue fuel from Iran in exchange for 3 kWh of  electricity from Armenia. Gas is supplied through the Iran-Armenia  gas pipeline, and electricity from Armenia is sent through two power  lines to Iran. In order to strengthen the possibilities of regional  commercial commerce and the operation of energy systems in parallel,  a decision was made to build a third Iran-Armenia power transmission  line with a voltage of 400 kilovolts and a 400/500-kilovolt power  line Armenia-Georgia. However, while the construction of power lines  in the Iranian direction was only 20-25% completed, the parties have  not yet begun to build the Armenia-Georgia power lines. At the same  time, the cost of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line project is  $ 107 million and is fully funded by the Iranian side.