Iran, Russia Discuss Energy Co-op

Tehran, May 14, IRNA -- Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanayee and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak explored new avenues for utilizing the abundant capacities of both states to strengthen Tehran-Moscow relations in all domains, particularly the energy sector. Speaking in a meeting with the Russian minister in Moscow, Sanayee described the current year as an important opportunity for consolidating energy cooperation, adding that if Tehran-Moscow implement their agreements in various arenas of oil, gas and energy, other economic sectors would also gain momentum. Both sides discussed the contents of the upcoming meeting of energy ministers of the International Energy Forum (IEF) slated for May 15-16 in Moscow. Sanayee further voiced Iran’s willingness to cooperate with Russia in the spheres of energy, building steam power plants and renovating Ramin Power Plant in Ahwaz and Shahid Montazeri Power Plant in Isfahan. Novak, for his part, pointed to President Vladimir Putin’s resolve for the implementation of agreements signed by both countries' presidents saying that the Russian Energy Ministry has taken necessary measures and is engaged in drafting memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the 11th meeting of the two countries joint economic cooperation scheduled to be held in Tehran. Iran-Russia trade currently totals $5bln a year, but economists say they can at least quadruple the volume of their trade exchanges. Last month, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh announced that Tehran-Moscow are due to finalize an agreement on broader economic and trade cooperation. Zanganeh underlined that Iran is determined to raise the volume of its “economic transactions” with Russia within the framework of long-term deals./end