Priorities of Armenian-Iranian cooperation discussed in Yerevan 

ArmInfo.On November 6, Deputy Ministers of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia  Kristine Ghalechyan and Armen Simonyan presented the priorities of Armenia-Iran cooperation to the delegation headed by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Mehdi Sobhani.

As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Territorial  Administration of the Republic of Armenia, the Iranian delegation  arrived in Yerevan as part of an expert seminar under the motto  "Armenia-Iran. The process and new prospects of cooperation".

The Ambassador of the IRI thanked for the meeting and added that the  Iranian experts present at the meeting are people who have serious  influence in Iran in terms of forming opinions regarding Armenia.   Simonyan, who coordinates the transport sector, noted that there is  successful cooperation with Iran in the field of air transport. He  also emphasized the importance of organizing bilateral cargo  transportation by Armenian and Iranian companies. In addition,  Simonyan emphasized the need to develop cooperation in the field of  railway transport.

In turn, Kristine Galechyan noted the importance of building a new  bridge on the Meghri border section.  She also spoke about the  North-South ITC and presented the Crossroads of the World project.  Let us recall that the new 60-kilometer Sisian-Kajaran road will be  of the second technical category. It will pass through a difficult  mountainous terrain, will include 27 bridges with a total length of  4.7 km and 9 tunnels with a total length of 12.5 km (the longest  Bargushat tunnel is about 8.6 km long). The pre-qualification stage  of the international tender for this project has been completed, with  23 companies from Europe, China and other countries submitting  applications. Of the total financial assistance package from the EU  to Armenia in the amount of 2.6 billion euros, 600 million euros will  be allocated for the construction of the Kajaran- Sisian road over  the next five years. Another 150 million dollars will be provided by  the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development. The 60 km long  section of the road will have a design speed of 80 km/h.

The North-South project will reduce the distance from the Iranian  border to the Georgian border from 556 to 490 kilometers. The road  will significantly facilitate access to the Black Sea not only for  Armenia, but also for Iran. The project will provide access to the  Black Sea and to European countries through the territory of Armenia  (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan-Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia. The  construction of the corridor was initially planned to be completed in  2019. The cost of the program was constantly revised upwards.  Meanwhile, in September 2012, when the construction of the highway  began, the amount named by representatives of the Armenian government  was several times less - $962 million, today we are talking about  investments of about $3 billion.