Tehran, Dushanbe sign five agreements

May 29th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

“The meeting was quite successful and the two countries reached good agreements,” Iran’s Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on Tuesday.

The Iranian minister added that the two countries have signed five agreements to expand cooperation in such areas as economy, health, energy transfer, power plant construction and transportation.

“In recent years, very good steps have been taken to promote regional cooperation among Persian-speaking countries, including trilateral cooperation [among Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan] in the fields of electricity, water, gas, communications, and railroad,” the Iranian minister said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met with Tajik Minister of Energy and Industry Gul Sherali on the sidelines of the ninth economic commission meeting in Tehran.

During the meeting, Salehi expressed hope that, with the implementation of the agreements between the two countries and with the help of the private and state sectors of both states, Iran and Tajikistan would witness important and effective progress in their relations.

The ninth Iran-Tajikistan economic commission opened on Sunday.

The two countries have recently strengthened their energy and economic cooperation. Tehran has signed various agreements in the fields of railroads and the transfer of oil, gas and power with Dushanbe.

Iran signed an agreement with Tajikistan in 2005 to build the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant. The plant is currently being constructed on the Vakhsh River in the Khatlon region, 160 kilometers (99 miles) south of Dushanbe.

The Islamic Republic has also invested USD180 million in the hydroelectric project while Tajikistan has allocated USD40 million.

When the plant comes on stream, it will be a significant milestone in energy independence for Tajikistan, as the country has been experiencing severe energy shortage since it gained independence in 1991.

SS/PKH/IS