During the online meeting, the two sides also discussed a regional initiative for developing cooperation in the field of unconventional water resources, including seawater desalination and the use of treated wastewater, according to news.moe.gov.ir.

Connecting the two countries’ electricity networks was discussed and approved at a recent meeting of the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM), hosted by Tehran.

In this regard, Al-Kaabi announced his country’s readiness for participating in this initiative and suggested that regular meetings would be held in the region’s countries so that experts could exchange information on related projects.

Further in the meeting, Ardakanian, who is also the head of the two countries’ joint economic committee, referred to the continuous exchange of electricity between Iran and its neighbors, saying that Qatar, at some points, has surplus electricity generation, which can be swapped with countries in the region, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, through Iran.

Mentioning the possibility of linking the two countries’ electricity networks, Al-Kaabi said electricity transfer between the two countries is possible and this proposal should be worked on.

In my opinion, this idea is practical, and it is possible to implement it, he said.

“Regarding cooperation in energy and water, good areas of cooperation can be defined, with the presence of the private sector of the two countries,” the minister added.

Ardakanian said that the Iranian electricity grid could synchronize to other grids either through Azerbaijan or Armenia and Georgia, Fars News Agency reported on Friday.

“Iran welcomes either of the two routes which gets ready first,” the minister said, adding that the three countries have agreed on a single company to conduct the project in the Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia route.

He went on to say that the company has already started work on the project.

Ardakanian termed the project “a necessary one,” which is highly demanded by the three countries.

On Tuesday, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali and Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Tikhonov underlined the necessity for strengthening cooperation between the two energy kingpins.

Jalali and Tikhonov conferred on the trend of mutual energy cooperation with a focus on removing obstacles in the way of expansion of cooperation.

The Iranian ambassador expressed hope that the measures taken would help the two nations boost trade between Tehran and Moscow.

Tikhonov, for his part, underscored the need to implement joint projects in a bid to develop economic cooperation between the two countries.

Iran’s electricity exports to its neighbors have been witnessing an upward trend in recent years.

The country has exchanged electricity with most of its neighbors, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, as well as the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, among which Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been solely importers of Iran’s electricity.