RIA Novosti, Russia
July 6 2005
Iran to pursue good-neighborly policy under new president
YEREVAN, July 6. (RIA Novosti)-A senior Iranian official said
Wednesday that the new president of the country would continue to
maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
While meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, the governor
of the province of Hormozgan, Ebrahim Derzmisu, said Iran’s new
presidential elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would pursue the
good-neighborly policy of his predecessor after his inauguration in
August.
The Armenian president’s press service reported the governor had also
conveyed a message of greetings from Iran’s ex-President Mohammad
Khatami.
The governor said there were two free and three special economic
zones, three international airports and a seaport in the Hormozgan
province, which created favorable conditions for the further
development of Armenian-Iranian economic relations. The official
stated he was set personally to help Armenian businessmen eager to
cooperate with Iran.
The Armenian president said he hoped bilateral agreements would also
continue to be valid throughout Ahmadinejad’s presidency.
According to Kocharyan, Armenia’s developing economy opened up new
opportunities for further bilateral economic cooperation. In
particular, the president stressed that a new highway to link Iran
and Armenia would considerably increase cargo traffic.
Besides plans to build a thermal power plant, the countries have
recently agreed to accelerate the construction of the Kajaran tunnel
in the south of Armenia, which will help trade between the countries.
Another project seeks to connect the countries’ fiber-optic cable
networks. If a 40-kilometer cable is laid in the north of Iran, the
country will be able to follow the example of Armenia and become
hooked up to the Russian fiber-optic network.
Armenia is most of all interested in energy cooperation with Iran, as
the country is not rich in energy resources and is planning to shut
down its sole nuclear power plant in 10 years’ time. If the thermal
power plant is built and Armenia gains access to other Iranian energy
facilities, the country’s energy security would be significantly
improved.
The construction of a 140-kilometer gas pipeline to connect the
countries is one of the most promising projects. Although it has been
under discussion for many years, the project has not yet been
implemented, as high prices for Iranian natural gas make exports
impractical. However, a pipeline to link Iran and Turkmenistan has
raised hopes that the project will become a reality and cheap natural
gas from Turkmenistan will be pumped through Iran to third countries,
which may include Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress