TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The foreign minister of Iran expressed the country’s readiness to raise the annual trade with neighboring Armenia to $1 billion.

In a meeting with President of Armenia’s National Assembly Alen Simonyan, held in Tehran on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian praised Armenia as a friendly nation and a major neighbor for the Islamic Republic.

Stressing the need to promote economic cooperation between the two countries by employing their abundant capacities, Amirabdollahian voiced Iran’s readiness to raise the value of annual trade exchanges with Armenia to $1 billion.

He also referred to the energy industry and transportation as two main fields of cooperation between the two neighbors, described Armenia as an indispensable section of an international corridor linking the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea, and expressed the Iranian companies’ readiness to complete the infrastructural projects, particularly the transportation plans, in Armenia.

Reaffirming Iran’s policy to support the territorial integrity of the regional countries, Amirabdollahian rejected any change in the international boundaries, and emphasized the necessity of respecting the sovereignty of regional nations.

He also described efforts to ensure peace and calm in the Caucasus region as one of Iran’s main priorities, saying Tehran would employ all of its potential to help settle the conflicts between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The foreign minister also expressed hope that the second round of the 3+3 South Caucasus Platform meeting would be held in Iran in the near future.

For his part, Simonyan hailed the growing relations between Yerevan and Tehran at the bilateral and international levels, saying Armenia attaches special importance to Iran as an influential state in the region.

Highlighting Armenia’s peaceful approach in the region, Simonyan called for Iran’s assistance with the finalization of a bilateral peace treaty with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Armenia sees no restriction on the expansion of ties with Iran, he added.

Simonyan finally described the establishment of Iran’s consulate in Armenia’s Syunik Province as a milestone in the bilateral relations, voicing Armenia’s readiness to open a consulate in Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz.