COOPERATION TO THE BENEFIT OF THE TWO COUNTRIES AND THE REGION
Lilit Pohghosyan
Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Oct 23 2007
Armenia
Yesterday MAHMOUD AHMADINEDJAD, President of the Islamic Republic
of Iran arrived in Armenia on a two-day official visit. The same day
the leader of Iran had a meeting with President Kocharyan.
The Presidents summed up the results of the negotiations, first held in
the form of a tete-a-tete and then followed by an enlarged meeting;
they signed a number of documents regarding different spheres of
the Armenian-Iranian cooperation. Then, within the frameworks of
an open-air briefing, they summed up the mosaic of the agreements
reached at the current stage of Armenia-Iran dialogue and confirmed
their determination to continue the Armenian-Iranian relations to
the benefit of the two peoples, regional security and stability.
Welcoming his counterpart, R. Kocharyan particularly stated, "Iran is
an extremely important partner for us. We have a very broad agenda of
relations, and today we re-confirmed our positive attitude towards
the large-scale programs we are implementing jointly. As you know,
the construction of the Armenian-Iranian gas pipeline is under way.
Today we discussed and reconfirmed the possibility of constructing
the three-sided oil refinery and railroad. Of course, all this is
currently in the process of calculations, because those steps have
to be economically beneficial to the parties."
The parties also signed a cooperation agreement in the sphere of
banking, which, as R. Kocharyan is convinced, will enable them to
extend their relations in this sphere.
The political aspects of the cooperation were not overlooked
either. The Presidents agreed to liven up the external ties and discuss
regional issues, including the developments around the Karabakh
conflict. "Of course, I have let the Iranian President know about
negotiation process. We have discussed different regional issues. In
general, we had quite open discussions around all the issues, and I
am grateful to my counterpart both for his visit and for accepting
the invitation."
Touching upon the "continuously developing sustainable relations", the
Iranian President mentioned in his turn, "I am very happy for having
the opportunity to visit Armenia by the invitation of my counterpart
R. Kocharyan and discuss with our Armenian colleagues the potentials of
deepening the Armenian-Iranian cooperation. This is our third meeting
within the last 1-year period. The first meeting took place in Tehran
last year, when the RA President arrived in Iran on an official visit;
the second meeting took place this March on the Armenian-Iranian
border; the next meeting is taking place now in Yerevan."
According to him, the goal of this particular visit and the pivotal
issue of the meetings and discussions with the Armenian colleagues is
to find new ways of realizing the unused resources existing in the
bilateral relations, and first of all – the economic cooperation as
well as confirming them by practical programs.
"Fortunately, there are no obstacles, and we have great chances
for developing bilateral relations in all the spheres. During
the meeting, we both emphasized that we recognize no measures and
limits for that, especially in the fields of energy, oil and gas,
electric power production, communications, transportation, as well
as in the sphere of mutual investments with regard to extending the
cooperation between the two countries. We are sure that the bilateral
disposition is constructive, and it is to the benefit of the region,"
stated the Iranian President, expressing confidence that the volumes
of the commodity circulation between the two countries will record
very speedy and visible results.
Responding to the questions, M. Ahmadinedjad estimated the
Armenian-Iranian relations as "cloudless" and, what’s more,
"excellent". "Our relations with Armenia are friendly, based on mutual
respect, and this is true for all the spheres. There is no lack of
trust or feeling of coldness between our peoples in any matter,"
he said.
Detailing the results of the agreements achieved during the
negotiations, R. Kocharyan particularly mentioned that the Armenian
section of Armenia-Iran gas pipeline (let’s note that the opening of
the Iranian section of the pipeline took place at the beginning of the
year) is to open on October 28. "I will take part in the ceremony. I
hope the gas pipeline will have transit capacities. Time will show to
what extent such potential will be revealed. We are seriously disposed
to linking the railroads to one another. We are also seriously disposed
towards the issue of the three-sided operation of the oil refinery
(Russia being the third side – L.P.).
Here, I repeat, it is necessary to calculate everything. The programs
are large-scale, and large-scale programs demand a certain stage of
discussions and calculations. We are currently at that stage."
In short, the Armenian-Iranian relations are, in the estimation of the
RA President, entering a new stage in which "our economic relations
will be much deeper". The agenda of the issues discussed is quite
vivid and provides the best evidence of the current stage of the
Armenian-Iranian relations.
Moreover, the fact that the "the Iranian President and Government
treat these issues with such attention shows that the development
of the bilateral relations is a priority not only for Armenia,
but also for the Iranian side, for which I express my gratitude,"
stated President R. Kocharyan at the end of his speech.