Armenia and Iran will establish a joint specialised working group in the energy sector, with a particular focus on gas trade, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported.

The agreement was announced following talks in Tehran between Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan and Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad.

“Praising Armenia for standing by Iran during difficult times, Paknejad reaffirmed Tehran’s readiness to strengthen cooperation with its northwestern neighbour within the framework of its technical and economic capabilities,” the Iranian news agency said.

According to the Iranian oil minister, the two sides discussed a broad range of energy projects, including expanding bilateral trade, exporting technical and engineering services, constructing an oil refinery and supplying petroleum products to Armenia. 

Paknejad also said that Tehran and Yerevan had agreed to establish a joint specialised working group and proposed launching its work as soon as possible so that concrete results could be assessed during the next round of bilateral talks.

 The minister recalled that the existing energy partnership between the two countries is based on the gas-for-electricity swap agreement. It was reported earlier that Khudatyan is in Tehran on a working visit.