On June 29, 2021, the Acting RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan received the delegation led by Mehdi Eliassi, the Iranian Vice President for Science and Technology, the Deputy for Policy and Development Issues. The delegation also included Amir Nazemi Ashani, the Deputy Minister of Information Technologies and Communications of the Islamic Republic of Iran and President of the Information Technologies Organization, Deputies of Iran’s Parliament, other officials and representatives of a number of large Iranian companies. The delegation arrived in Armenia to participate in the Armenian-Iranian business forum. The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Armenia Ali Mohammad Mottaghi.

Welcoming the participants of the meeting, Vahan Kerobyan noted: “The Armenian-Iranian agenda is one of our priorities. To make the bilateral cooperation more effective, it is important that we bring to a logical end and implement all our jointly planned programs”.

At the beginning of the meeting, the members of the delegation noted that during the forum Iranian companies showed great interest in initiating effective cooperation with the Armenian side in various areas of the economy, including industry, construction, agriculture, food and textile production, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Afterwards, the head of the delegation Mehdi Eliassi, summing up the issues discussed during the forum, presented a number of proposals from the Iranian side. Informing that the Iranian side has extensive experience in establishing high-tech centers in different countries, he suggested establishing a similar center in Armenia, where bilateral B2B meetings will be organized and discussions related to this field will be held.

The meeting also referred to the bilateral cooperation within the framework of “Meghri” and “Aras” free economic zones. Taking into account Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, the parties discussed possibilities of organizing joint productions in different sectors of economy and exporting the finished products to the EEU and other countries.

The Iranian side also expressed readiness for cooperation in equipping Armenian medical institutions with Iranian-made equipment. The prospects of cooperation in the field of pharmaceuticals were also discussed.

The members of the delegation offered to study the possibilities of creating a “smart” city through joint efforts.

Within the framework of the Armenian-Iranian collaboration in the field of economy, a business forum is planned to be held in Iran in the fall, during which a wide range of issues related to the Armenian-Iranian economic cooperation will be discussed.