ARMENIA, IRAN TO BOOST TIES WITH MORE JOINT PROJECTS
1453_4/14/2009_1
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
TEHRAN (RFE/RL)–Underscoring their common interests in the region,
Armenia and Iran vowed to further deepen their relations with more
multimillion-dollar infrastructure projects formally approved by
their presidents in Tehran on Tuesday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his visiting Armenian
counterpart, Serzh Sarkisian, were reported to sign eight agreements
after two days of negotiations which they both described as productive.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed the agreements
at a meeting with Sarkisian and Ahmadinejad later in the day. "The
Iranian government and nation have enthusiastically welcomed expansion
of amicable ties with the Armenian nation and government," Khamenei
said, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.
"Existing ties between Iran and Armenia are very deep-rooted, friendly
and developing," the agency quoted Ahmadinejad as telling a joint
news conference with Sarkisian. "Throughout their history the two
nations have always trusted each other and enjoyed amicable ties."
Ahmadinejad described as "very bright and promising" prospects for
the development of those ties. "We are to broaden our cooperation at
regional and international levels," he said.
"We are able to bolster and broaden mutual and regional cooperation to
help deepen and consolidate ties between the two nations," Sarkisian
agreed, according to IRNA.
One of the "memorandums of understanding" signed during Sarkisian’s
official visit formalized the two governments’ ambitious plans to build
a railway connecting Armenia and Iran. The 470-kilometer railway,
the bulk of it passing through Armenian territory, is estimated to
cost at least $1 billion.
Another Armenian-Iranian agreement calls for the construction of
a big hydro-electric plant on the Arax river that separates the two
neighboring countries. There was no word on the cost and other details
of the project that were reportedly discussed by the Armenian and
Iranian energy ministers on Monday. The two sides have been looking
for foreign investors interested in financing the construction of
the power plant and the railway.
Armenian-Iranian energy cooperation was already significantly boosted
last December with the official inauguration of a pipeline designed
to ship Iranian natural gas to Armenia. It is still not clear when
Iranian gas deliveries will start, though. The Armenian and Iranian
presidents did not publicly comment on the matter after their talks.
The talks began on Monday shortly after Sarkisian’s arrival in
Tehran. A statement by the Armenian presidential press service said
Sarkisian assured the Iranian leader that "Armenia attaches special
importance to the dynamic expansion of relations with Iran." He also
thanked the Islamic Republic for letting its sole Christian neighbor
use Iranian territory for cargo transit in "difficult times," said
the statement.
"Iran and Armenia should promote relations in different areas including
trade, energy and transportation," Ahmadinejad said, for his part. "An
advanced and sustainable Armenia will be beneficial to the entire
region," he added, according to the Iranian Press TV.
The comments were echoed by Iran’s influential parliament speaker Ali
Larijani during his separate meeting with Sarkisian. "Cooperation
between Iran and Armenia is aimed at strengthening the foundations
of sustainable regional peace and security," IRNA quoted Larijani
as saying.
Sarkisian, according to his press office, briefed Ahmadinejad on the
latest developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and Armenia’s
fence-mending negotiations with Turkey. He again praised Iran for its
"balanced" position on the Karabakh conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
