DUSHANBE, September 11, 2012, Asia-Plus – Iran offers Tajikistan power in exchange for water.
Iran’s news agency Pana News (Pupils Association News Agency) reports the Iranian authorities are ready to provide Tajikistan with electric power in exchange of water.
“If Tajikistan provides Iran with enough volume of water, Iran will provide this country with power,” Iran’s Deputy Minister of Energy Ali Reza Daimi was quoted as saying.
According to him, Iran is ready to provide Tajikistan with electricity through investing in Tajik hydroelectric power plants Sangtuda-2 and Ayni.
“Development of these power plants will create a water and power corridor between Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan,” said the Iranian deputy energy minister. “Turkmenistan’s joining this corridor will promote wide cooperation between the countries of the region.”
Ali Reza Daimi reportedly stressed that Turkmenistan also has a good potential to meet Iran’s requirements in water. This country [Turkmenistan] has good potential for construction of hydroelectric power plants and Iran is ready to invest in this sphere, Daimi was quoted as saying.
We will recall that a number of Iranian companies now invest in agricultural, transportation and energy projects in Tajikistan.
In 2011, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Iran amounted to 204.1 million U.S. dollars, whole over the first three months of this year, trade between the two countries has amounted to 90 million U.S. dollars.
Iran now takes the fifth place among Tajikistan’s foreign trade partners, following Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and China.
In 2011, Iran invested 14.2 million U.S. dollars in development of Tajikistan’s economy.
