TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian held talks with the Syrian and Tajik ministers of water resources on the sidelines of the 11th meeting of the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) which was held via video conference on Wednesday.

In the meeting with Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Osman Ali Osmanzade, the officials who are the chairs of the two countries’ joint economic committee discussed the preparations for holding the committee’s 14th meeting in the Q3 of the current Iranian calendar year (September 22-December 20) through video conference.

Emphasizing the deep cultural and historical ties between the two countries and the existence of great capacities for cooperation, they emphasized on the further development of relations in all fields, especially in the fields of economy and energy.

As reported, the two countries' next joint economic committee meeting will be focusing on the realization of the agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOU) reached in their 13th meeting.

Ardakanian also held talks with the Syrian Minister of Water Resources Tammam Ra'ad during which the two sides stressed the need to form a strategic committee chaired by the deputy ministers of energy and water resources of Iran and Syria over the next two weeks to follow up on the outcomes of an MOU signed between the two countries on water cooperation.

Iran and Syria had signed an MOU on water cooperation in early December 2019.

During the meeting, the Syrian minister expressed satisfaction with participating in the 11th RCUWM meeting and called for the further development of bilateral cooperation in the field of water and sewage.

He also expressed satisfaction with the presence of experienced and capable Iranian companies in his country's water projects and welcomed a more significant presence of such companies in projects related to water and wastewater treatment plants.

Ra’ad further stressed the need for his country to use the experience and technical knowledge of Iranian companies in the reconstruction of Syrian water and sewage facilities.

EF/MA

Photo: Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian (R) and Syrian Minister of Water Resources Tammam Ra'ad.