IRNA, Iran
January 19, 2005 Wednesday 5:48 PM EST
Armenian minister calls for expansion
Tehran
Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs ghvan Vardanian meeting
with Iran`s Ambassador to Yerevan Alireza Haqiqian on Wednesday
called for expansion of cooperation in different fields between the
two countries.
In the meeting, Vardanian referred to mutual friendly ties and Iran`s
effective participation in the region.
Iran`s balanced position is very important for stability and security
in the region, he added.
Haqiqian, for his part, emphasized expansion of mutual relations in
all fields and called the upcoming visits of Armenian minister to
Iran “important” for mutual ties in different fields.
Vardanian, heading an Armenian delegation, is to travel to Iran on
January 22 for a four-day official visit.
Speaking in an interview with a Yerevan-based weekly in December
Haqiqian said “Iran`s bilateral relations with foreign countries, in
particular its neighbors, is based on mutual respect and
non-interference in their domestic affairs.”
Expressing satisfaction over the current level of Iran-Armenia
relations and its growing trend, he said that the visits of Armenia`s
President Robert Kocharian to Tehran and President Mohammad Khatami`s
trip to Yerevan played a crucial role in further strengthening mutual
ties.
He referred to some of the projects on the agenda including the
meetings of the joint economic commission, active participation of
Iranian tradesmen in Armenia`s market, the activities of Iranian
economic institutions there and cooperation in the energy sector.
In response to a question whether Moscow-Baku-Tehran railway will
replace Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route, he said that given Iran`s decisive
role in the regional transit system, the interest of the countries of
the region in cooperation with Iran is quite natural.
He added that according to a number of specialists, the Baku-Ceyhan
railway project is a political scheme, not economical.