Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, now on a working visit to Iran, met with newly elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi today in Tehran,

During the meeting, Raisi thanked Pashinyan for accepting his invitation to Iran and noted that Tehran values the continuous development of relations with friendly Armenia in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres.

Pashinyan, according to a statement released by his office, thanked Raisi for the warm hospitality shown and again congratulated him on his election as Iranian president.

Pashinyan stressed that multilateral cooperation with Iran, which is based on mutual respect and understanding, is of primary importance for Armenia.

"The centuries-old friendship of our two peoples, the close historical and cultural relations, are the basis for further development of bilateral cooperation. We are ready to continue our dialogue through joint efforts and further enrich the agenda of bilateral cooperation. The fact that I am here today testifies to our commitment to deepen relations and strengthen cooperation between Armenia and Iran at the highest level," said Pashinyan.

In the context of strengthening bilateral ties, Pashinyan noted the role of the Armenian community of Iran key and thanked the government of the country for providing the community with all necessary opportunities to preserve its Armenian identity.

The two discussed a wide range of issues related to the strengthening of trade and economic ties. In particular, the sides considered the provision of activity of the Meghri free economic zone and the possibility of applying Iran's free trade regime with the EEU as a stimulus to develop cooperation in this sphere.

The parties considered the development of regional links a priority, where the development of transport and cable communication from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea will be of key importance.

Pashinyan welcomed Iran’s interest in Armenia’s North-South Highway project and said that the Armenian government is ready to discuss the participation of Iranian construction companies in the international tender for the Sisian-Meghri section of the above-mentioned project.

Pashinyan and Raisi also discussed opportunities for developing cooperation in the energy sector and the steps taken to start the construction of the Iran-Armenia 400 kV power transmission line.