TEHRAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. RA President Serzh Sargsyan's two-day official visit to Iran started on April 13. The tete-a-tete talk of S. Sargsyan and IRI President Mahmud Ahmadinejad took place after the official meeting ceremony at Mehrabad airport, after which the negotiations continued in an extended staff. The two Presidents highly assessed the Armenian-Iranian friendly relations saying that they have prospects for development, expressed satisfaction with the current level of political dialogue, emphasized their readiness of further expansion of interstate relations noting that such visits and high-level contacts give a possibility to discuss and to give solutions to various problems regarding the Armenian-Iranian rich agenda. S. Sargsyan emphasized that Armenia attaches a special importance to dynamic expansion of relations with Iran considering Iran as a reliable neighbor having pivotal importance and a "friend of hard days." He thanked for friendly assistance provided in the first years of independence, as well as in the issue of exporting goods of first necessity through the territory of Iran in the days of August events. M. Ahmadinejad, in his turn, classed deepening of permanently stable relations with Armenia as one of his country's important foreign priorities. "We should keep and enlarge our achievements," the IRI President said. S. Sargsyan and M. Ahmadinejad emphasized that Armenian-Iranian cooperation having a history of thousands of years contributes to strengthening of peace and stability in the region. "Discussion of big infrastructural programs is evidence of our vision of further expansion and deepening of friendly relations. I am sure that the agreements reached on the discussed issues will be turned into documents, the fulfillment of which will result in further deepening of our friendship," S. Sargsyan said. The two countries' Presidents attached importance to the serious role of Iranian Armenian community in the issue of strengthening of Armenian-Iranian friendship. The interlocutors discussed issues regarding further expansion of trade and economic cooperation, increasing volumes of commodity circulation, construction of Iran-Armenia railway, construction of joint HPPs on river Araks, various programs of bilateral interest in energy, transport, and trade spheres, touched upon regional problems during the Armenian-Iranian high-level negotiations. At M. Ahmadinejad's request S. Sargsyan informed him about the Armenian-Turkish political dialogue and latest developments in the process of Nagorno Karabakh peaceful settlement. The sides attached importance to settlement of all problems peacefully, through negotiations considering cooperation, peace, and stability as an important precondition for well-being and prosperity of the peoples in the region. S. Sargsyan thanked the Iranian President for the permanent balanced approach in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh settlement. The same day S. Sargsyan met with Chairman of IRI Majlis Ali Larijani. The interlocutors highly assessed the activity of the Armenian-Iranian deputy friendship group attaching importance to the role of interparliamentary cooperation in the issue of strengthening and developing friendship between the two countries and peoples. Touching upon programs discussed during the high-level negotiations, Ali Larijani said that they are realistic and realizable. According to the report of the RA President's Press Office, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Co-chairman of the Armenian-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission Armen Movsisian, Minister of Transport and Communication Gurgen Sargsian, Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobian, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsian, NA deputies, CBA Chairman Artur Javadian, General Executive Director of the Armrosgazprom company Karen Karapetian, and other officials are included in the delegation led by S. Sargsyan.

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