Moj News Agency, Iran
April 4, 2009 Saturday

Iran, Armenia on the Way of Expanding Ties

Iranian Roads and Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani has arrived
in Armenia to discuss economic ties with his Armenian counterparts.

"Iranian and Armenian officials tend to compile a 70-article
cooperation document," Bahbahani said at a meeting with Armenian
Energy Minister Armen Movsessian. Behbahani also visited his Armenian
counterpart Gurgen Sarkisian to discuss making link between the two
countries railways. Sarkisian announced that making link between the
railways of Iran and Armenia "is a matter of importance" for his
country adding that such a plan could be regarded as a "strategic
regional project." A working group is expected to take about 18 months
to determine the best route and do a feasibility study and
constructing the line would take three to four years, Iranian Roads
and Transportation Minister Hamed Behbahani said. Armenia, a
landlocked country, has no rail line that crosses its border. Rail
lines to Azerbaijan and Turkey have been closed for years, and the
rail link with Russia was cut by the Russian-Georgian conflict since
it crosses Georgia. Behbahani said the line would be about 300 miles
long, with most of that distance in Armenia. Sarkisian described the
rail line as "a continuation of the Silk Road," the historic trade
route that connected China with the Middle East. 2009/04/04