On July 24, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a meeting in Tehran and an expanded meeting with the participation of delegations of both countries.

Ararat Mirzoyan thanked the Iranian Foreign Minister for the reception and effective discussions.

“The Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people attach great importance to the rich historical relations with the neighbouring and friendly Islamic Republic of Iran, and we are confident that high-level visits and contacts are aimed at strengthening our ties in the long term. For us, Iran has always been and will remain a special partner, including in overcoming challenges in the current difficult conditions.

Based on mutual respect and understanding, our continuous and uninterrupted bilateral friendly relations are developing dynamically, we are enriching the agenda of the partnership between the two countries through joint efforts and outline new prospects for cooperation.

Attaching great importance to the benchmark outlined by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on increasing the volume of bilateral trade turnover up to $3 billion, we stressed the consistency of joint economic programs and the importance of their completion. Cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, transport and road infrastructure plays a special role on our agenda, and in this regard, it should be emphasised that the implementation of the programs of international transport routes 'North-South Road Corridor' and 'Persian Gulf-Black Sea' is of great importance.

Trilateral formats with the participation of Armenia and Iran also serve as an interesting platform for cooperation: we were glad to host the first Armenia-Iran-India consultations in Yerevan this year. We attach great importance to this trilateral cooperation and are confident that it has significant potential for multifaceted cooperation. One of the substantive achievements of bilateral cooperation was the opening of the Consulate General of Islamic Republic of Iran in Kapan last year, the logical continuation of which we consider the works on the establishment of the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Tabriz.

I would like to emphasise once again the readiness and political will of the top leadership of Armenia to develop and deepen relations with our good neighbour, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the spirit of mutual respect and mutually beneficial partnership.

Thank you for today's warm welcome and hospitality in Tehran, which was declared a sister city with Yerevan at the beginning of this year, “ he said, inviting his colleague to visit Armenia.