During the visit, Ardakanian, who is the head of the two countries Joint Economic Committee, will meet with his Russian counterpart to discuss the latest state of bilateral economic cooperation within the framework of the joint committee.

The minister will also meet with Mikhail Myasnikovich, the chairman of the board of Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), on the sidelines of the SPIEF 2021, to discuss Iran’s cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) under the free trade agreement and the process of Iran’s permanent membership in the union.

As reported, Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Hamid Zadboum, and Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali are also accompanying Ardakanian in his visit to Russia.

Zadboum is scheduled to deliver a speech in the SPIEF, and will also hold talks with ECC Board Member and Minister for Trade Affairs Andrey Slepnev.

Mirhadi Seyedi, TPO’s international affairs advisor, is also attending the forum as the head of the Iranian negotiating team with the EAEU and will meet with the Eurasian Economic Union negotiating team over the next two days.

“This conference is the biggest economic and political event in Russia in recent years, which attracts the attention of many politicians, businessmen and heads of large international companies and major media every year,” Seyedi said about the forum.

Myasnikovich had earlier announced that several figures including the Vice President of Venezuela, and deputy prime ministers of Azerbaijan, Qatar, Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia and Turkmenistan as well as the foreign ministers of Bahrain, Hungary, Mongolia, Nigeria and Slovakia are scheduled to attend this year’s SPIEF.

World Bank Group President David Malpass will also address the forum online, Myasnikovich said.

The Iranian delegation is also scheduled to meet with the CEO of RusHydro and will visit several Russian companies.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said on Monday that Tehran and Kabul will explore ways to boost cooperation in the energy and transportation sectors in the upcoming joint economic commission meeting.

Iran and Afghanistan are due to hold their 6th Joint Economic Committee meeting in Kabul on October 25-27.

Ardakanian said, “The cooperation in the projects such as Herat-Khaf railroad, customs cooperation and border markets as well as energy ties will be addressed during the upcoming meeting.”

Since the chairmanship of the meeting has been assigned to the Energy Ministry, he added, issues such as cooperation in the field of renewable energies will also be discussed during the session.

He said that Iran and Afghanistan can also cooperate on renewable energies which require a joint investment scheme.

The minister said that officials from the two countries will do their best to give a boost to Herat-khaf railway project and reach the final point.

Afghan officials say that the railway project will be inaugurated within the next few months which they say will be a breakthrough in trade relations between the two neighboring countries.

Construction of Harat-Khaf railway, which is underway in four parts and is 193 km, began in 2007.

Meanwhile Chairman of Afghanistan’s Peace Council Abdullah Abdullah, for his part, said that if peace is restored in Afghanistan, the country can take advantage more of these cooperation opportunities.

He added that both countries can cooperate on wind energies and both countries are studying the grounds for cooperation in this field.

He expressed hope Afghanistan’s internal and financial problems would be resolved soon.

Earlier in October, Ardakanian held talks with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar through video conference on the development of cooperation in various energy sectors while considering issues that could be raised in the joint committee meeting.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian during a TV program said that by the end of this government next year, the power production capacity will increase by 20,000 megawatts and it will added to the network.

Ardakanian said despite a decline in the ministry’s budget from the oil revenues comparing to the preceding years, the ministry will increase the production capacity by 20,000 megawatts by the end of next year.

He added that the ministry has tried to minimize the power outage, reiterating that all depends on the public cooperation and their management of electricity consumption.

He added that every year the number of electricity outage decreases in the country and it has almost been zeroed because of power shortage. He added that this year the number of big industries being supplied with electricity has soared and it means the number of production lines has increased.

Ardakanian added that every year some one million subscribers are added to the list of electricity users in the country who should be supplied with power. He reiterated that the country is determined to activate all of its capacities for surge in production and this needs more energy, reiterating that the ministry’s main goal is to enhance electricity production in order to export the surplus production to earn forex needed for the industry.

He reiterated that some power outages in the country have not happened because of power shortage or its export to the neighboring states, and it has just been because of technical problems.

Ardakanian noted that Iran has no problem in electricity knowhow and it can rely on itself in managing its power industry and it can even present its achievements in this industry to the world.

But he admitted that if there is any problem in this industry it is not technical and it is just financial and it should be dealt fairly and seriously.

He also reiterated that subsidies in this sector should not lead to overconsumption of electricity by the public.

Ardakanian noted that despite decline in oil revenues and fall in the ministry’s budget, the electricity production capacity has been boosted and 20,000 megawatts of electricity will be added to the current amount by the end of the current government next year.

He said 18 dams have been inaugurated or will be inaugurated this year which will boost the power production.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian says Iran’s power industry needs some $1.2b of forex annually that some of the amount is offset through export of electricity to the neighboring states.

Speaking in the open session of Majlis yesterday, Ardakanian said Iraq is the most important neighboring country of Iran where Iran’s electricity is exported to and it provides some part of forex needed by Iran’s power industry.

He added that the total debts of the ministry is 45,000b tomans while the company demands the same amount of money from the government, hence Majlis should find proper solution for this problem.

On the output of thermal power stations of the country, he said studies show that the output of Iran’s thermal power stations are a little better than the average universal rate of 37.3 percent.

He further said, “Today, Iran is ranked fourth in power plant capacity, and I promise that by the end of the twelfth government we will have reached a capacity of 830 MW in the field of renewable energy.”

Ardakanian also referred to the situation of water, electricity and gas consumption in the country, saying: “Although the population of our country has increased by about two-thirds over the last four decades, thanks to the efforts of the authorities, the access of citizens to electricity are higher than the global average, and in the past four decades, however, despite the country’s population being only 36 million, many people did not have access to electricity.”

“Iran’s access to electricity is about 100 percent, while this figure is estimated 96 percent for other countries. Since Iranian calendar year 1392, about 16,000 MW has been added to the country’s electricity capacity, and we hope that this figure will reach 20,000 MW and more by the end of the 12th government,” Ardakanian noted.

He also admitted that the country is expecting one of the warmest summers in front of itself in terms of electricity supply and urged people to manage their consumptions.

Ardakanian reiterated that in the past 17 years, the country has continued electricity supply without major outage or collapse while in the world, the average rate for the collapse of electricity network is 10 years and even in the developed countries, electricity network is collapsed every 15 or 16 years.

He expressed hope that this summer and with cooperation of people in efficient consumption, there would be no major outage in the country.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Minister of Energy Reza Ardakanian says a loan of $5 billion that Russia has agreed to give Tehran will be used to fund a major railway project in eastern Iran.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the eastern province of South Khorasan on Saturday, Ardakanian said a major railroad project linking the cities of Zahedan and Birjand will be funded by a $5 billion loan provided by the Russian Federation.

He said Iran has ratified plans to set up the railroad project, has notified Russia of its decision, and is making arrangements with the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia to carry out the project.

Citing a Friday telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart about the plan, Ardakanian expressed hope that the railroad project would reach acceptable stages in the coming months and within the remaining year of the current Iranian administration’s term.

The minister also highlighted the abundant opportunities for energy projects in South Khorasan Province, saying the country’s only and largest coal-fired power plant, located in the city of Tabas, is moving rapidly to come into operation.

The major coal-fired power station is going to play a significant role in exploiting the potential of the province’s mines and in creating employment, he noted.

Ardakanian also unveiled plans to generate some 30,000 megawatts of wind power as a reliable source of renewable energy in collaboration with neighboring Afghanistan.

“Good preliminary negotiations have been held (with Afghanistan), and I hope we could immediately put the plans for cooperation into practice given the situation after formation of a new government in Afghanistan,” the energy minister added.

Iran has a great capacity for solar and wind energies, he noted, saying the construction of renewable energy power plants will dramatically reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and water and reduce emissions.

There are three power plants with generating capacity of 18 megawatts (MW) in South Khorasan, the minister added, hoping that the coming into operation of a new wind farm in Sarbisheh would allow the province to export electricity.

Implementation of Sarbisheh 50 MW wind power plant project with an investment of more than 70 million Euros began with the presence of the minister.

The capacity of Siahoo reserve dam is 17 million cubic meters, for which 800 billion Rials have been spent.

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According To Iran News, Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian informed that the first consignment by Qatar as part of aids to contain Covid-19 will arrive in Iran on Tuesday night.

He made the announcement on Tuesday, saying “As the head of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation, we are in close and constant contact with the authorities of countries including Russia, Qatar, Armenia and other countries to supply the necessary equipment to fight against the coronavirus outbreak.”

Prior to that, China has also sent two cargos of humanitarian aid to Iran this week. The first cargo was included 20,000 coronavirus test kits.

The second cargo consisted of more than 50,000 laboratory kits to diagnose coronavirus cases and oxygen therapy equipment that were arrived in Iran from Guangzhou by Mahan Air on Saturday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also on Monday sent its first planeload of assistance to Iran to help fight coronavirus, dispatching six medics with tons of medical equipment and test kits.

The first cargo of humanitarian aid by UK, France, and Germany to Iran to help combat the coronavirus outbreak in the country also arrived in Tehran on Monday night.

As of Tuesday, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak, officially known as COVID-19, in Iran has risen to 77 with 2336 confirmed cases.

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Speaking at an international conference on Iran-EAEU trade held in Tehran on Sunday, Ardakanian expressed hope that the conference would pave the grounds for closer economic ties between the two sides.

“The formation of the EAEU is a good example of regional cooperation and with its expansion, the grounds for convergence of regional countries are provided more than ever, which will bring more peace and tranquility to the region,” he added.

“The development of trade with the EAEU member states is a great opportunity for (Iran’s) foreign trade, and the two sides need to interact more closely,” the minister went on to say.

Minister in charge of Customs Cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Nurlan Akmatov and Veronika Nikishina, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) also participated in the international conference.

In June, the Iranian parliament ratified an agreement that allows the administration to join a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries.

The agreement, signed in Kazakhstan in May 2018, sets the main rules of trade between the EAEU, Iran and those of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which Iran is not a member.

The free trade zone is planned to be in effect for four years, under which the EAEU will grant Iran tariff concessions on more than 500 items.

Russia’s State Duma and the Federation Council had ratified the agreement to establish Iran-EAEU free trade zone in November 2018.

The Eurasian Economic Union includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Iran and EAEU members started to develop the agreement on the free trade in 2015, though the signing was postponed several times.

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According To Iran News, Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian highlighted the importance of the country’s closer cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and said the union provides a big opportunity to boost the Islamic Republic’s foreign trade.

Speaking at an international conference on Iran-EAEU trade held in Tehran on Sunday, Ardakanian expressed hope that the conference would pave the grounds for closer economic ties between the two sides.

“The formation of the EAEU is a good example of regional cooperation and with its expansion, the grounds for convergence of regional countries are provided more than ever, which will bring more peace and tranquility to the region,” he added.

“The development of trade with the EAEU member states is a great opportunity for (Iran’s) foreign trade, and the two sides need to interact more closely,” the minister went on to say.

Minister in charge of Customs Cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Nurlan Akmatov and Veronika Nikishina, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) also participated in the international conference.

In June, the Iranian parliament ratified an agreement that allows the administration to join a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries.

The agreement, signed in Kazakhstan in May 2018, sets the main rules of trade between the EAEU, Iran and those of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which Iran is not a member.

The free trade zone is planned to be in effect for four years, under which the EAEU will grant Iran tariff concessions on more than 500 items.

Russia’s State Duma and the Federation Council had ratified the agreement to establish Iran-EAEU free trade zone in November 2018.

The Eurasian Economic Union includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Iran and EAEU members started to develop the agreement on the free trade in 2015, though the signing was postponed several times.

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