Iran supports regional development, Tehran tells Yerevan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran opposes obstacles to the border or transit route with Armenia and supports the development of the region, according to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a meeting withe Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan in Yerevan on Saturday, October 22.

The Iranian diplomat is visiting Armenia to attend the opening of Iran's main consulate in Kapan, the regional center of the southern province of Syunik, which took place on Friday.

According to a statement from the parliament's press service, the Iranian Foreign Minister noted that the establishment of the Consulate General in Kapan contains an important message: Iran opposes obstacles to the border or transit route with friendly Armenia and supports the development of the region.

Simonyan said that Armenia too was interested in opening a General Consulate in Iran, to which Amir-Abdollahian gave e supportive response.

The two agreed that the Consulate General of the Republic of Iran will contribute to the more effective realization of the potential in Syunik in trade, economy, transport, energy and a number of other fields.

One of the key issues discussed was the Armenian-Iranian strategic dialogue in all directions, as well as the prospect of increasing the trade turnover between the countries to 1 billion dollars. Iran's foreign minister noted that one billion dollars can be reached in the first stage, and in the second, more prospective stage, he considered it realistic to reach a turnover of 3 billion dollars.