While meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, the governor of the province of Hormozgan, Ebrahim Derzmisu, said Iran's new presidential elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would pursue the good-neighborly policy of his predecessor after his inauguration in August.
The Armenian president's press service reported the governor had also conveyed a message of greetings from Iran's ex-President Mohammad Khatami.
The governor said there were two free and three special economic zones, three international airports and a seaport in the Hormozgan province, which created favorable conditions for the further development of Armenian-Iranian economic relations. The official stated he was set personally to help Armenian businessmen eager to cooperate with Iran.
The Armenian president said he hoped bilateral agreements would also continue to be valid throughout Ahmadinejad's presidency.
According to Kocharyan, Armenia's developing economy opened up new opportunities for further bilateral economic cooperation. In particular, the president stressed that a new highway to link Iran and Armenia would considerably increase cargo traffic.
Besides plans to build a thermal power plant, the countries have recently agreed to accelerate the construction of the Kajaran tunnel in the south of Armenia, which will help trade between the countries. Another project seeks to connect the countries' fiber-optic cable networks. If a 40-kilometer cable is laid in the north of Iran, the country will be able to follow the example of Armenia and become hooked up to the Russian fiber-optic network.
Armenia is most of all interested in energy cooperation with Iran, as the country is not rich in energy resources and is planning to shut down its sole nuclear power plant in 10 years' time. If the thermal power plant is built and Armenia gains access to other Iranian energy facilities, the country's energy security would be significantly improved.
The construction of a 140-kilometer gas pipeline to connect the countries is one of the most promising projects. Although it has been under discussion for many years, the project has not yet been implemented, as high prices for Iranian natural gas make exports impractical. However, a pipeline to link Iran and Turkmenistan has raised hopes that the project will become a reality and cheap natural gas from Turkmenistan will be pumped through Iran to third countries, which may include Armenia.
