TEHRAN - The value of non-oil trade between Iran and Armenia rose 6 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) reported.

The IRICA report put the non-oil trade between the two countries at 885,719 tons worth $192.108 million, with 60 percent growth in weight, year on year.

Armenia was the 10th top trade partner of Iran among the Islamic Republic’s neighbors in the first five months of the present year.

The 18th meeting of the Iran-Armenia Joint Economic Committee was held in Tehran during February 14-15, in which the two sides signed 19 documents and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to enhance cooperation in various areas.

The mentioned documents covered a variety of areas including trade development, customs cooperation, maritime transportation, food, and medicine.

The 18th meeting of the Iran-Armenia Joint Economic Committee meeting, hosted by Iran’s Plan and Budget Organization (PBO), was attended by senior officials and ministers from the two sides including the PBO former Head Davoud Manzour, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Economy Narek Teryan, and the former Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Mehdi Zeighami.

Speaking at the meeting, Mher Grigoryan said Iran and Armenia can increase their annual trade to $3 billion.

Underlining the significance of the two countries’ Joint Economic Committee meeting, Grigoryan said: “Considering the relations and cooperation between the two countries, we can implement the agreed matters with joint efforts and take the necessary steps for ensuring the interests of the people of the two countries.”

“Iran is not just a neighboring country for us, but a very important partner and we have to deepen the relations between the two countries,” he stressed.

Prior to attending the second day of the Joint Committee meeting, Grigoryan held a meeting with Iranian Late President Ebrahim Raisi, during which Raisi said his government fully supported the agreements reached with Armenia.

“We support the implementation of all agreements made between Tehran and Yerevan, and (implementing these agreements) requires efforts and diligent follow-up of the Joint Economic Committee of the two countries,” the president said.

On the sidelines of the meeting, TPO former Head Mehdi Zeighami held a meeting with Narek Teryan to discuss ways of expanding trade relations.

In this meeting, Zeighami said Iran and Armenia could be the gateway to link east to Eurasia by developing their transportation infrastructure at borders.

“Having a common land border, Iran and Armenia can act as a gateway to Eurasia by developing road infrastructure and transit routes,” he said.

In another meeting on the sidelines of the event, Armenian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Vahan Kostanyan met with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari in which he called on Iranian companies to participate in Armenia’s road construction and infrastructure projects.

Earlier on February 13, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan said that Armenia and Iran could soon increase the volumes of the gas for electricity swap deal.

The gas-for-electricity agreement between Armenia and Iran has been extended until 2030 and enables Armenia to import greater volumes of natural gas and export more electricity.

“I believe that in terms of the legal documentation we have implemented the important phase and soon, as required, according to needs and also infrastructures, we will be able to use that opportunity. New power transmission lines are under construction in order to be able to export greater volumes of electricity to Iran. Both sides have the desire to increase the volumes, and the changes will be visible in various stages,” Sanosyan told Armenpress.

The minister also spoke about the involvement of Iranian companies in construction projects in Armenia. He said that the bigger the project the harder it is to find contractors.

Also during the two countries' Joint Economic Committee meeting, the Head of Iran’s Food and Drug Administration (IFDA) Heidar Mohammadi voiced the country’s readiness to export domestically produced drugs to Armenia.

Iran enjoys self-sufficiency in the production of drugs and pharmaceutical equipment, he said.

For her part, Deputy Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Lena Nanushyan said that Iran has made significant progress in the production of medicines and medical equipment.

Armenia welcomes cooperation with Iran in the field of health tourism, pharmaceutical insurance, and healthcare, the official added.

In early May, the Armenian government announced that it was going to borrow $254 million from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to build a 24-kilometer section of a new highway leading to the Iranian border.

The planned 60-kilometer road will be constructed in the southeastern Syunik province bordering Iran. It will connect the provincial towns of Sisian and Kajaran through a much shorter route. This will in turn shorten travel time between the two neighboring countries.

The new Sisian-Kajaran road is to be cut through mountainous terrain, hence, the high cost of its construction.

Work on the road’s first, southern section is slated for completion in 2032.

Last October, the government awarded a $215 million contract to a consortium of two Iranian companies to upgrade a 32-kilometer road stretching from the Armenian-Iranian border to the Kajaran mountain pass, the highest in Armenia. About two-thirds of the road is to be expanded and modernized while the remaining 11 kilometers will be built from scratch over the next three years.

The contract was signed in Yerevan in the presence of Iran’s former Minister of Transport and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash.

MA