TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister Ghasem Taqizadeh Khamesi and his Syrian counterpart held talks through video conference on Wednesday to discuss expansion of cooperation and implementation of previously reached agreements in the water sector, IRNA reported.

In this meeting, Taghizadeh Khamesi introduced the capacities and capabilities of the Iranian water industry in implementing major projects including supply, transfer, and treatment of water and wastewater, construction of pumping equipment, desalination plants, seawater transfer, and water recycling.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Deputy Minister of Water Resources Nabil al-Hassan underlined his country's willingness to use Iran's capacities and experiences in the water and wastewater industry.

The two sides also discussed some of the problems that Iranian contractors working on Syria’s water and wastewater projects are currently facing.

Based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the two sides, solving the problems of the Iranian companies active in Syria’s water and wastewater fields is a top priority for cooperation between the two sides.

According to al-Hassan, Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous who had earlier been the Water Resources Minister of the country has followed up the issue.

He vowed that the Syrian side will take serious measures for removing impediments.

Cooperation in designing and implementing dam projects, irrigation and drainage networks, construction of water transmission lines in Syria by using the capacity of the private and public sectors, designing and constructing sewage treatment plants and water transmission and distribution networks and desalination plants, implementation research projects, sharing experiences in water resources management are among the most important areas for cooperation underlined in the mentioned MOU.

The two sides will follow up and evaluate the progress of the provisions of this memorandum by forming a joint committee chaired by the deputy ministers of the two countries that would hold meetings once every three months.

Iran and Syria signed an MOU in December 2019 for cooperation in the water and wastewater sectors and for renovating Syria’s water and wastewater networks.

The MOU was signed by Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian and Syria’s former Water Resources Minister Hussein Arnous on the sidelines of the 10th meeting of the UNESCO Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM)’s governing board in Tehran.

EF/MA