YEREVAN. - Armenian Premier Karen Karapetyan on Tuesday received Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Seyed Kazem Sajjad.

Karapetyan noted that Armenia and Iran have traditional close and friendly ties. He also noted that they should not limit themselves to the current level, but continue making steps towards developing the mutually beneficial cooperation. In this context, the Premier underscored the importance of the construction of the third Iran-Armenia 400kW power transmission line, Noravan substation, gas distribution network of villages bordering with Iran, as well as the current projects of ‘Gas for Electricity’.

The head of the Government also considered promising the four-sided Armenia-Iran-Georgia-Russia cooperation format. Referring to the construction of the North-South Highway, the Premier noted that Iranian companies can also get involved in that program if interested.

According to Karapetyan, Armenia and Iran have a great potential for increasing volumes of commodity turnover and implementing new investment programs in different sectors of economy, including agriculture, telecommunication, tourism, health, etc.

For his part, Seyed Kazem Sajjad expressed readiness to closely cooperate with the Armenian Government to implement mutually beneficial programs and contribute to the further deepening and expansion of economic ties. The Ambassador also attached importance to the increase in the volumes of commodity turnover, expressing conviction that the participation of over 100 Armenian companies in the recent exhibition in Tehran and establishment of free trade zone in Meghri can well contribute to this.

Apart from this, Karen Karapetyan and Seyed Kazem Sajjad referred to the other issues on the agenda of Armenian-Iranian relations.