TEHRAN - High-ranking officials from Iran and Qatar signed six cooperation documents in the fields of trade and economy, culture, education, sports, and agriculture.

The documents were signed during an official visit to Doha by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran’s Minister of Energy Abbas Aliabadi, who is the Iranian head of the Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Committee, was also present at the signing ceremony.

The documents were inked by the Iranian and Qatari ministers of energy, foreign affairs, and sports and youth affairs.

Developing joint investment, production

On the sidelines of the Iranian delegation’s visit to Doha, the Iranian Energy Minister met with Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani, the Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry, who is the Qatari head of the two countries' Joint Economic Committee.

In this meeting, Aliabadi emphasized the need for joint investment and production by the private sectors of the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to make the preparations for holding the 10th meeting of the Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Committee in late November or early December.

Connecting power grids

Aliabadi also held a meeting with Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi in Doha on Thursday in which the two sides stressed the need to finalize feasibility studies about the connection of the electricity grids of the two countries.

Also, the issue of exporting technical, energy and engineering services from Iran to Qatar was raised by Iran’s minister of energy, which was welcomed by the Qatari side.

The Iranian official invited his Qatari counterpart to visit Iran to learn about the country's high potential and capability in the electricity industry.

Joint-venture investment using the capabilities of the two countries in the field of electricity was among the other topics discussed at the meeting.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha on Wednesday in order to participate in the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).

Back in May, Aliabadi, and Assistant Undersecretary for Commerce Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Qatar Saleh bin Majed Al-Khulaifi met and stressed broadening economic and investment ties between the two countries.

Aliabadi held talks with Al-Khulaifi at the 6th Export Potential Exhibition of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as Iran Expo 2024, in Tehran.

Describing the presence of Qatar in Iran Expo 2024 as an opportunity to learn more about Iran's export capabilities, Aliabadi highlighted Iran's significant progress in technical and engineering services, which could potentially aid Qatar with repairing turbines and complex machinery.

Additionally, Aliabadi expressed Iran's willingness to cooperate with Qatar in various industrial, agricultural, and industrial fields.

Iran and Qatar signed a comprehensive cooperation document at the end of the ninth Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Committee meeting in Tehran on December 11, 2023.

The document was signed by Iran’s former Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian and Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani as the heads of the Joint Economic Committee.

In the mentioned document, cooperation in the fields of energy (water and wastewater, electricity, oil, gas, and environment), exchanging experiences and technical knowledge, holding events, including exhibitions, and specialized training courses in the fields of water and water technologies, and renewable energies were emphasized.

Exchanging private sector delegations active in the fields of consulting, contracting, and industries, production of equipment related to the electricity industry, and the readiness of the environmental organizations of the two countries to expand relations have also been covered in the document.

The document also covered cooperation in other fields including banking, insurance, customs, national development funds, technical and engineering services, trade, industries and mines, free zones, investment, and standards.

Cooperation in the fields of transportation, communication and information technology, agriculture, judicial, legal, labor, and border are also among the axes of this cooperation document.

EF/MA