The Armenia-Iran Strategic Cooperation Development Center Foundation and the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party signed a memorandum of understanding.

ArmInfo. Pouya Hosseini, Director of the Armenia-Iran Strategic Cooperation Development Center, and Levon Zurabyan, Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), signed a memorandum of understanding in Yerevan on September 1.

With the memorandum, the parties confirmed their readiness to promote deeper bilateral cooperation through the exchange of opinions, holding joint seminars and events, encouraging the deepening of political, economic, and cultural ties between the countries, and exchanging experience and information to achieve common goals.

Presenting the position of the Armenian side, Zurabyan noted that the Armenian and Iranian peoples are not only friendly, but also fraternal. "Iran has played a major role in strengthening our country's independence. Cooperation has been established between Armenia and Iran, which is beneficial to both the Armenian and Iranian sides. Iran's position on the Artsakh issue has always been balanced and fair. "And Iran has done everything to ensure that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is resolved peacefully," the politician noted.

But most importantly, according to Zurabyan, Iran remains Armenia's "lifeline," that is, its gateway to the outside world. "This was the case in the 1990s, when Armenia was blockaded by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Iran then remained the only possible route to the outside world. Today, nothing has changed, and Iran remains a country with which we can have good relations and through which we can interact with the growing economies of the Global South," Zurabyan emphasized.

The ANC Deputy Chairman also recalled Iran's role in the processes taking place between Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. "Armenia needs peace with these countries, but it should not be built on the basis of our country's one-sided dependence. Unfortunately, this is precisely the format being proposed to Armenia today. And this is where Iran's role is crucial. The opportunities for Armenian-Iranian cooperation are countless and irreplaceable," the politician believes.

According to Zurabyan, Armenia must become a bridge between the West and East, as well as North and South, as this is the main guarantee of its independence and development. "Therefore, we have great interest in developing relations with Iran, implementing joint projects, and we believe that the Armenia-Iran Strategic Cooperation Development Center Foundation is a serious structure with which it will be possible to advance these ideas. And the memorandum we are signing today shows that we want to advance this agenda," the ANC Deputy Chairman stated.

For his part, the head of the foundation, Iranian political scientist Pouya Hosseini, noted that Iran has 15 neighbors, but Armenia has always been the most reliable of them. "Relations between the countries have no alternative. The security of our countries is also interconnected. But even with such great potential, we have not developed our relations properly. For example, we could increase our trade turnover. Experience has shown that relying solely on state resources is impossible to achieve. And the signing of today's memorandum is precisely about this—that we must work with all representatives of the Armenian people, using all possible resources to develop relations between our countries. We are talking about all parties, political and economic associations. This will lead to both economic development and the security of both countries. It will also help the countries overcome "international storms." We have this resource, and we must make every effort in this direction," Hosseini noted. He also pointed out the importance of the North-South transport corridor for both countries, especially against the backdrop of other countries' attempts to build routes bypassing Armenia and Iran. "These routes should not simply pass through our territories. We must ensure that both countries can be of geopolitical significance. "We need to have a common strategy to ensure the long-term security and benefits of our countries," the Iranian politician concluded.