O n November 5-7, the IPRC Orbeli Center hosted a three-day expert conference titled "Armenia-Iran: Cooperation and New Prospectives”.

Within the framework of the workshop, the representatives of Iran’s leading think tanks and news agencies were hosted in Yerevan by the RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, and Deputy Ministers of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Armen Simonyan and Kristine Ghalechyan. During the meetings, the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy, its relations with regional countries, and the progress of Armenia-Iran cooperation in political, economic, and other fields were presented to the Iranian specialists. Details were presented regarding the Crossroads of Peace Project of the RA Government and its prospects. Officials from the Republic of Armenia addressed questions of interest raised by the Iranian specialists. 

On the second day of the program, the Iranian specialists arrived in Kapan, the regional center of Syunik. They toured the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine in Kajaran, where they observed the entire industrial cycle, including a visit to the open pit and the large ore crushing site. Throughout the tour, the guests witnessed the high technical and safety standards of mine operation. The Iranian specialists then visited the construction site of the Kajaran-Agarak section of the “North-South” road to observe the work carried out by Iranian companies.    

On the third day of the event, the actual expert workshop was held. Gor Tsarukyan, Director of the IPRC, made the opening speech. Highlighting the importance of advancing Armenian-Iranian relations across all spheres, Mr. Tsarukyan emphasized especially the need to deepen the existing ties between the expert, analytical, and media circles of the two countries, while ensuring the continuity of their interactions. He emphasized that such events play a significant role in this regard, ensuring the increase of bilateral understanding.

The Governor of Syunik Robert Ghukasyan and the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani welcomed the participants of the workshop.  

Armenian and Iranian specialists presented and comprehensively discussed the regionalization policies of Armenia and Iran’s neighborhood policies under the current geopolitical realities, the factors affecting regional security and stability, the prospects of Armenia-Iran economic cooperation and infrastructure development. They also referred to the Armenian-Iranian historical and cultural ties, the importance of media, people’s diplomacy from the point of view of the development of bilateral relations and other important issues.



After summarizing the workshop’s proceedings, the Iranian guests got acquainted with the exhibition of archival photos by Armenia’s state news agency, Armenpress, titled “Documenting the Century” held in Kapan.