Monday, May 28, 2012 -
Iran is eager to import 1 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water from Tajikistan, the Iranian energy minister said on Sunday.
The talks are going on during the 9th Iran-Tajikistan Joint Economic Commission on Sunday in the Iranian capital Tehran.
The water import will be part of an agreement reached last year between Tajikistan, Iran, and Afghanistan to establish a water and energy corridor, Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjoo said.
“National energy networks of the three countries should be connected to a 500-kilowatt power line,” the Asia-Plus news agency reported Namjoo as saying.
He also called for a road project to link the three countries.
“The road will let us lay a new pipeline to import oil and gas from Iran and deliver drinking water from Tajikistan to Iran, Afghanistan, and other countries of the Persian Gulf,” he added.
The energy minister also said he would discuss the establishment of an oil-processing factory in Tajikistan during the meeting.
Iran has increased its interaction with Tajikistan, the sole Persian-language culture in Central Asia, while also stepping up its diplomacy in other countries of the region.