June 3, 2009 - 02:30 AMT
Iran, Iraq and Turkey sign power MOU
Mr Parviz Fattah Iranian minister of Energy, Mr Taner Yildiz Turkish energy and natural resources minister and Mr Kareem Waheed al-Aboudi Iraqi minister of electricity inked an MOU on last Wednesday at the end of their first regional power conference held in Baghdad, Mehr News Agency reports.

According to the MOU, the 3 countries agreed to bolster cooperation in the power and electricity field and link their national power grids to one another and Syria.

The Iraqi minister stated the 4 countries aimed at connecting their power networks to the Persian Gulf littoral states, the Central Asian nations and to European countries in the long run.

According to Mr Fattah Iran has already linked its power networks with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkmenistan.

Mr Parviz Fattah said in Baghdad on last Thursday that Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant will generate electricity in the next Iranian calendar year.

He said that energy consumption this year has shown a growth of 6% in Iran.

He added that Iran has been able to turn into a major power producer and exporter by relying on domestic potential.