TEHRAN - Iran and Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to increase cooperation between the aviation industries of the two countries, the spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) announced.

Mir-Akbar Razavi said the MOU was signed by CAO Head Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh and President of the General Civil Aviation Authority State of Qatar Mohammed Faleh Al-Hajri in a meeting held in Tehran on Friday, IRNA reported.

According to Razavi, during the meeting the officials exchanged views on making use of Iran’s air capacities for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. 

The agreement was made following two rounds of bilateral talks in Doha and the Iranian southern Kish Island.

Based on the MOU, Iranian airlines will facilitate the travel of the World Cup tourists to Iran during the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Iran has also expressed readiness to remove visa requirements for foreigners who aim to visit Iran as they visit Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.

In February, Iran and Qatar signed six MOUs to cooperate in various areas of transportation including air and maritime as well as in the preparations for the World Cup 2022.

The MOUs were endorsed by Iranian Minister of Transport and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi and Qatar's Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti in Kish Island.

The documents included an agreement previously approved by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi during his visit to Qatar, as well as, three cooperation MOUs on air transportation, an MOU on maritime transportation, and a document on cooperation regarding Qatar World Cup 2022.

During his meeting with Qasemi, Al Sulaiti also expressed his country’s willingness for the expansion of maritime ties with Iran’s southern coastal provinces.

He stressed that Iran is one of the most important and influential countries in the region, saying: "The World Cup 2022 is not exclusive to Qatar and we intended to use the capacities of all countries in the region in this regard."

EF/MA