Public Television of Armenia
March 13 2009

Armenian president, Iranian minister upbeat on future ties – TV

[Presenter-read report over video of meeting] Iran is a good neighbour
and a reliable partner for Armenia, [Armenian] President Serzh
Sargsyan said while receiving today Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr
Mottaki, who chairs the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission,
and the delegation that accompanied him. The [Armenian] republic’s
president said the existing Armenian-Iranian relations were at a high
level and expressed confidence that the visit of the Iranian foreign
minister to our country will give a new boost to the continuously
developing cooperation in all spheres.

Mottaki passed warm regards from [Iranian] President Mahmud
Ahmadinezhad on to the president [Sargsyan]. He also said he was
confident that the forthcoming official visit of the Armenian
president to Iran would open a new page in the relations between the
two countries and would be the beginning to large-scale
projects. Saying that he considered the century-long friendship to be
a large asset of the two countries, the Iranian foreign minister said
his country believed in the future of its relations with Armenia and
believed that they are logical and beneficial for both nations. Saying
that Armenian-Iranian relations include numerous spheres, the sides
agreed that these have acquired a strategic nature in recent years and
a new quality, becoming long-term constructive projects. Among
long-term projects, they attached special importance to the
construction of the Iran-Armenia railway, which will be of essential
importance not only for Armenia and Iran, but also for the whole
region. The need to expand the existing legal-contractual sphere was
also emphasized. This will provide a new opportunity to develop
economic cooperation. The sides also exchanged points of view on the
current situation in the Caucasus.