Iranian President meets with Armenian energy minister

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian that Iran is eager to expand its cooperation with Armenia, Press-TV reports.

Iran sees no obstacle in the way of boosting ties with Armenia at the highest level, Ahmadinejad said at a meeting with Movsisian in Tehran on Tuesday.

He pointed to his upcoming visit to Armenia and expressed hope that the two countries' officials would adopt appropriate strategies to consolidate their bilateral cooperation.

Beginning on June 6, the Iranian president is scheduled to pay an official two-day visit to Armenia to discuss ways to expand Tehran-Yerevan relations in various spheres.

The Armenian energy minister expressed optimism about the prospects for increased economic cooperation between Iran and Armenia and said the implementation of joint projects would be beneficial for the two countries and the region.

The meeting came a day after Iran and Armenia inked memorandums of understanding in Tehran to expand economic ties in the energy, trade, banking, and transportation sectors.

After signing the MOUs, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said, “In 2010, trade between Iran and Armenia increased by 38 percent, bilateral trade between the two sides currently stands at 270 million dollars, and we are now the fourth biggest economic partner of Armenia.”