Iran, Armenia electricity exchange to quadruple

TEHRAN, Dec. 05 (MNA) – Iran’s energy minister has announced that the capacity for electricity exchange between Iran and Armenia will soon rise from 300 to 1200 megawatts. Speaking during the opening ceremony of the 14th session of Iran-Armenia Joint Commission at the presence of the Armenian Minister of Energy Infrastructure and Natural Resources Ashot Manukyan, Energy Minister of Iran Hamid Chitchian said primary topics of the joint session include implementation of the third power transmission line, North-South Transit Corridor as well as construction of a pipeline from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. He pointed to the upcoming visit of Armenia’s president to Tehran in the near future asserting “arrival in Tehran of Serzh Sargsyan would offer the best opportunity for development of bilateral cooperation between Iran and Armenia in energy and economy arenas.” The official, while stressing that several venues exist for expansion and deepening of bilateral relations between the two states, estimated that the 14th session of Iran-Armenia Joint Commission will pave the path for further bolstering of ties in various fields like rail, aviation, agriculture, livestock, water, electricity, mining, petroleum, petrochemicals and tourism sectors.” Chitchian also touched upon electricity exchange between Iran and Armenia underlining that creation of infrastructures and construction of new transmission lines will raise volume and capacity of power exchanges between the two parties. Referring to commencement of constructing the third electricity transmission pipeline between the two sides, Iran’s energy minister said implementation of the new project will bring about a fourfold rise in the capacity for power exchanges between Iran and Armenia. At the end of his remarks, Hamid Chitchian voiced Iran’s readiness to step up economic cooperation with Armenia reiterating that the two neighboring countries could boost economic and energy relations more than the past.