Rouhani: Iran ready for boosting economic ties with Georgia

President Hassan Rouhani said here Thursday in a meeting with Georgian prime minister that Tehran is ready to boost its economic ties with Tbilisi, particularly in implementation of infrastructure projects there.
[Rouhani: Iran ready for boosting economic ties with Georgia]

In the meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Thursday session the Iranian president in particular highlighted Iran’s expertise in energy, gas, water and transportation fields, announcing the Iranian technicians and engineering firms’ readiness to implement infrastructure projects in Georgia.

“Implementing the Persian Gulf-Black Sea connection project is one of the shared interests of the two countries in need of strong will in both sides in operational phase,” added President Rouhani.

Emphasizing the need to respect Georgia’s territorial integrity, the Iranian president said that Iran favors the stability and security of Georgia and the two countries can also cooperate in those fields, as well as the cultural fields satisfactorily.

President Rouhani meanwhile asked for broader regional cooperation aimed at securing the objectives of the regional countries’ sustainable development and stability.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, for his part, referred to the long history of the two countries’ relations, arguing that Iran and Georgia can together multiply the level of economic, cultural, and the two nations’ relations several-fold.

He said that the implementation of such infrastructure projects as gas and water pipelines and transportation networks’ development can pave the way for a greater level of economic cooperation.

Prime Minister Garibashvil also referred to the positive role of the two countries’ Joint Economic Cooperation Commission in designing and pushing forth the required procedures for developing broader economic relations, announcing that the Georgian Parliament Speaker and economy minister were scheduled to visit Tehran in near future aimed at further broadening of bilateral ties.