Armenia Mulling over Dumping Dollar in Trade with Iran

Yarijanyan said the officials are looking for trade in their national currencies and have proposed establishment of a credit institution outside the banking system to the president of Armenia.

Referring to his recent meeting with Armenian President Armen Sarkisian in a news conference on Tuesday, Yarijanyan pointed to economic relations between the two countries, and said, "The President of the country has a positive view of Iran and calls for increased mutual investment between the two countries."

He added that dispatching delegations, creating exhibitions, and maximizing the capacity of the two countries are among the intended programs.

"We are looking for trade in the two countries' national currencies which are rial and dram," Yarijanyan said in response to a question on banking relations between the two countries. "We have proposed the establishment of a credit institution outside the system of bank rules to the President of the country, to cover the country."

Saying that the "Maqqari" economic zone has not been activated yet, he said that by activating the region that is located near the Iranian borders, "We can connect the factories and service systems to the Eurasian Treaty system".

Referring to Iranian exhibitions held in Armenia, Yarijanyan said, "Unfortunately, these exhibitions were not specialized and did not succeed. Most of the downstream middle-class companies have participated in these exhibitions without any special purpose, which has made our internal industry not be as recognizable as it should.”

Referring to the disarrangement in the exhibitions organized by the Ministry of Industry, he wished the official to be more precise in issuing permits to hold the exhibition.

The head of Iran-Armenia Chamber of Commerce also announced that a trade delegation will visit Armenia in August.

Late in last month, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, in a meeting in the capital city of the Caucasian country, exchanged views on ways to increase energy cooperation between Tehran and Yerevan, particularly extending the power grid between the two neighboring countries.

At the meeting in Yerevan, Haeri and Grigoryan discussed setting up a grid for electricity transmission.

Grigoryan said that the preferential tariff agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) served as a suitable opportunity for developing bilateral and multilateral relations.

During the meeting both sides underlined the importance of following up regional interactions in energy field.

Back in late February, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashanyan, in a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, expressed hope that his visit to Tehran would be a milestone in relations between the two countries, specially in economic fields.

During the meeting in Tehran on February 27, Pashanyan welcomed development of economic relations with Iran, expressing the hope that his visit to Tehran would open a new chapter in the two countries' relations.