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Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Eshaq Jahangiri made statements for mass media representatives after their private meeting, the press office of the Armenian Government reported.

First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Eshaq Jahangiri: “I welcome the delegation headed by the Honorable Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Karapetyan.

Our two countries are in the same cultural, civilizational and geographical region, and the relations between our countries stem from the depths of centuries and are based on the two peoples’ cultural commonalities.

Our relationship has always been based on stability and will continue with God’s will. Our fellow countrymen of Armenian origin who live in different cities of Iran entertain warm ties with their compatriots in Armenia, which is a good bridge for the development of relations between the two countries.

We have good relations with our neighbors and serious work has been done for their development. The Republic of Armenia has a special place of its own on our foreign policy agenda with the neighboring states.

We have no restrictions on cooperation with Armenia in the political, economic and cultural spheres, and the visit of the Honorable Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia may play a special role in the development of relations between the two countries in political, economic and cultural spheres.

During our private and extended talks, we discussed such issues as may provide further development of bilateral relations. Since the Republic of Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and has good relations with the European Union, this platform can be positive for the development of relations between the two countries.

For those companies engaged in transport contracting, construction and economic sectors, an agreement has been reached to create favorable conditions for expanded activities. Armenia can become one of the transport corridos linking the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.

In the framework of the Gas and Electricity Swap Program, we have envisaged the construction of the third high-voltage power transmission line. In addition, the agreements reached today can bolster the development of cooperation.

I think that our private sector representatives can benefit from the conditions created, while the availability of free economic zones in both countries can also be a boost to business cooperation. Thank you.”

Armenia’s PM Karen Karapetyan: “Dear Mr. Jahangiri, I would like to thank you for your warm reception on behalf of our delegation.

We have come to our friendly State with a very good mood. We have had very constructive and substantive meetings, and I can reaffirm my consent with the comments made by Mr. Jahangiri.

We have reaffirmed the high level of our friendly relations, and have been outspoken about all those topics.

We have stated that we are interested in the involvement of Iranian business, capital in Armenia. We are prepared to offer to our Iranian partners all those privileged trade regimes that Armenia can enjoy now. We reiterated that we are willing to step up the level of bilateral trade turnover and remain committed to eliminating all barriers we may face on that road. Finally, we have talked about the possibilities of regional cooperation.

We are thankful to our Iranian counterparts for their position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I feel that our Iranian partners have a clear idea of what to do in other platforms, including the intergovernmental commission, and we have invited Mr. Jahangiri to visit Armenia at his convenience in order to take a retrospective look at the path covered in the wake of this visit.

Mr. Jahangiri may confirm that the talks went off very well, and we are very optimistic about the prospects. Thank you.”

Attended by Karen Karapetyan and Eshaq Jahangiri, a series of agreements were signed between the governments of Armenia and Iran.

In particular, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of science and technology was signed between the governments of the two countries. It was signed by RA Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan and Deputy President for Research and Technology Surena Satari for the Iranian side.

The Ministry of Culture of Armenia and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed the Program of Cultural and Artistic Exchanges for 2017-2020. It was signed by RA Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan and Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran Abbas Salehi.

Armenian and Iranian Agriculture Ministers Ignati Arakelyan and Mahmoud Hodjadi signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of veterinary medicine.