Iran: Chinese investment in railway and renewable energy projects

First Vice President of Iran on Thursday discussed the strengthening Tehran-Beijing ties with Premier of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 22nd session of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Iran officially became a full member of the SCO in April 2023.

Mohammad Mokhber said the relations between Iran and China rooted in history and culture and said Iran has extensive capacities and capabilities that can be put to use in the two countries’ ties. 

Mokhber announced that Iran sees the development of ties with China as extremely important. “The development of Makran and Chabahar coasts, the construction of 15,000 megawatts of renewable power plants, mining development, Tehran-Mashhad and Tehran-Isfahan high-speed train projects, and transit cooperation in the west and east are all on Iran's agenda, and we welcome China's participation and investment in these areas,” the official noted. 

The vice president also emphasized the full implementation of the 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran and China. The deal signed in 2021 includes economic, military and security cooperation.

Mokhber also took the time to thank Beijing for its stance on Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza which have so far resulted in the death of more than 7,000 civilians. 

“The bitter events in Gaza and Palestine hurt the heart of every noble, free, and conscientious person, and unfortunately, in the current chaotic situation and war crimes being committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza, most of the casualties are among civilians, women, and children”. 

The Chinese premier, for his part, described Iran as one of the major and influential countries in the West Asian region. “Iran's full presence and membership in Shanghai and BRICS will strengthen these organizations and be very useful for regional and global peace and stability,” he said. 

“The relations between the two countries have always had a growing trend since the establishment of political relations fifty years ago, and this year important agreements have been concluded between Tehran and Beijing with two meetings between the presidents of the two countries,” Li said, adding that Beijing regards Tehran as an important partner and seeks to further enhance ties with the West Asian country. 

 

Iran-Russia ink 4 cooperation documents

Iran and Russia have signed four documents for cooperation in a variety of areas at the end of the two countries’ 16th Joint Economic Committee meeting in Russia on Tuesday, Shana reported.

The strategic document for the development of bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation was signed by Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji and Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who co-chaired the meeting.

A loan MoU was also signed between Iran’s Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ali Fekri and Vladimir Ilyichev, Russia’s deputy economy minister for the signaling of the Incheh Borun-Garmsar railway project. 

Meanwhile, a bilateral memorandum was also signed by Mohammad-Hossein Niknam, Director General International Cooperation at Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Health Sergey Glagolov for cooperation in the field of health and medical education.

Also, another MoU was signed between an Iranian and a Russian holding for the implementation of EPC projects for product transfer pipelines.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Oji said that the Iranian Oil Ministry, as the body in charge of the Iran-Russia Joint Economic Committee, will not only take all the necessary measures to expand strategic cooperation between the two sides in the energy sector, but it will also support the cooperation between all Iranian and Russian ministries, organizations, institutions, and companies.

He underlined the need for establishing extensive banking cooperation between the two countries for creating a suitable and reliable payment mechanism in order to facilitate mutual trade and investment, as well as swapping energy carriers, especially gas, crude oil, and petroleum products.

The minister said that the expansion of cooperation between Iran and Russia will make international sanctions against the two countries ineffective.

Oji also called for the mutual acceptance of the standard systems of the two countries with the aim of developing trade, and exchange of agricultural products, including the import of grain from Russia and the export of tropical agricultural products to Russia.

The Iranian oil minister underlined the capacities of Iran and Russia in different areas and the sanctions targeting both countries, expressing hope that the signed MoUs and agreements in the meeting will lead to a positive expansion of economic relations between the two countries.

Emphasizing that all the agreements reached and discussed in the 16th Joint Economic Committee of Iran and Russia are actually based on the topics agreed upon by the presidents of the two countries, he said, "The Iranian Oil Ministry will use all its power to follow up on the agreements reached in this meeting because we believe that these agreements are a blueprint for the solid structure of cooperation between the two countries.”

The minister stressed that holding the 16th meeting of the Joint Economic Committee of the two countries will bring good results, saying, “In the future, the level of relations between the two countries will increase day by day, especially in the economic field.”