Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who arrived in Armenia on an official visit. First, an official welcoming ceremony was held, during which the national anthems of Armenia and Iran were performed, and then the leaders of the two countries welcomed the members of the delegations.

A meeting in a narrow format followed, after which the leaders of the two countries continued their discussions in an expanded format.

In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted:

“Honorable Mr. President,

Let me once again welcome you and your delegation to the Republic of Armenia. Your visit is the evidence of the high level of relations between our countries, and we are happy about it. We have already managed to discuss a fairly wide range of issues, and I am happy to note that my impression is that as a result of these discussions, our mutual trust is further strengthened. Once again, I greet you and welcome you.”

In turn, Masoud Pezeshkian noted:

"I, in turn, thank you for your warm hospitality. As you mentioned, the discussions were very constructive and the agreements to be reached will be brought to life by both sides, God willing.

Our relations are historic, very close, and the conviction of our country, as well as our Supreme Leader, is that these relations should be continuous and should develop day by day.

We have always emphasized the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia and will never accept the violation of this integrity. Fortunately, our relations are developing in all areas and I hope that during these discussions and meetings we will be able to further develop these relations."

The interlocutors discussed a number of issues on the agenda of Armenia-Iran cooperation. In particular, they touched upon the further development and expansion of ties in a number of areas, exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest. 

***

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian signed a joint statement after their meeting.

Next, a ceremony of signing documents between Armenia and Iran took place in the presence of the leaders of the two countries.

In particular, a memorandum was signed “On political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran for 2025-2027 (respectively, 1404-1406 solar years)”. It was signed by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and IRI Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi.

A Memorandum of Understanding "On Cooperation between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia and the National Standards Organization of Iran in the Fields of Standardization, Accreditation, Conformity Assessment, Metrology and Technical Regulation" was signed between the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Gevorg Papoyan and the Deputy President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Head of the Programming and Budget Organization, Co-Chair of the Armenia-IRI Intergovernmental Joint Commission Seyyed Hamid Pourmohammadi.

Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan and IRI Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Salehi Amiri signed a Memorandum of Understanding “On Cooperation in the Field of Tourism between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

A Memorandum of Understanding “On Cooperation in the Field of Vocational Education and Training (VET) between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare of the Islamic Republic of Iran for 2025–2029” was signed. It was signed by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia Zhanna Andreasyan and IRI Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Seyyed Mohammad Atabak.

The Chairman of the Urban Development Committee of the Republic of Armenia, Yeghiazar Vardanyan, and the Minister of Roads and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Farzaneh Sadegh, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on “Cooperation between the Urban Development Committee of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Fields of Urban Development and Construction.”

A Memorandum of Understanding on “Cooperation between the Center for Expertise in Medicines and Medical Technologies of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia and the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Field of Regulation of Medical Products” was signed between the Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Gasparyan, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani.

The Director of the National Archives of Armenia, Artur Stepanyan, and the Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Raed Faridzadeh, signed a Memorandum of Understanding “Between the National Archives of Armenia and the National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

A Memorandum of Understanding “Between the National Library of Armenia and the National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran” was signed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Grigor Hakobyan, and the Head of the Center for International Relations and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hojatollah Ayoubi.

The Director of the History Museum of Armenia, David Poghosyan, and the Head of the Center for International Relations and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hojatollah Ayoubi signed a Memorandum of Understanding “On Museum Cooperation between the History Museum of Armenia and the National Museum of Iran.”

Director of the Armenian Cinema Foundation David Banuchyan and Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chairman of the Cinematography and Audiovisual Organization Raed Faridzadeh signed a memorandum of understanding on "Film Exchanges and Cooperation between the Armenian Cinema Foundation of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the Cinema and Audiovisual Affairs Organization of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

***

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made statements for media representatives.

Below are the statements of the leaders of the two countries.

Nikol Pashinyan: “Honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Your Excellency Mr. Pezeshkian, Honorable representatives of the governments of Armenia and Iran, Honorable guests,

First of all, I would like to warmly welcome to the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian, who is visiting the Republic of Armenia for the first time. The active and constructive dialogue established between our governments is one of the guarantees of the stable development of brotherly relations between Armenia and Iran. I am confident that President Pezeshkian’s visit will give a new impetus and quality to the friendly relations between Armenia and Iran.

Undoubtedly, the basis of the current strong and mutually reliable partnership between Armenia and Iran is the strong friendship between the peoples of Armenia and Iran, which has stood the test of time with honor and, in some sense, also interconnected the historical path of our two peoples. We both agreed that the time has come to carry out work to elevate the relations of our countries to the level of strategic partnership.

Dear guests,

With President Pezeshkian, we discussed in detail the issues of regional peace and the unblocking of economic infrastructure, which are among the key priorities of our Government. The ideas of the Republic of Armenia on this issue are summarized in the “Crossroads of Peace” project, which has been repeatedly welcomed at a high level by representatives of friendly Iran.

I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Armenia and the entire Armenian people highly appreciate the clear position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the borders of the Republic of Armenia. For Armenia and Iran, the inviolability of international borders and uninterrupted communication between our states are of vital importance.

In the context of the above, I presented to Mr. President the details of the Joint Declaration signed on August 8, as well as the initialed agreement “On the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan”. This process is aimed at opening up great prospects for the economic development of the entire region.

I am pleased and grateful to President Pezeshkian for his objective assessment of these agreements. One of our key agreements with Azerbaijan is the reopening of communication routes in the region, with full mutual respect for the sovereignty, jurisdiction and territorial integrity of the countries. In practice, this will open new doors for railway cooperation between Armenia and Iran, including through the Nakhchivan-Julfa railway line, which will mean Iran’s railway access to Armenia and, ultimately, to the Black Sea. This is fully consistent with the “Crossroads of Peace” project. We are confident that the unblocking of regional infrastructure should serve to promote dialogue between our various partners.

I would like to emphasize once again that the communication routes passing through Armenia will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of Armenia, and security will be ensured by Armenia and not by any third country.

Dear partners,

We have set a strategic goal to increase the volume of bilateral trade with Iran, first to one and then to three billion US dollars. In fact, today we can state that we have actually approached the one billion mark and are consistently working towards achieving the next target. In this sense, the free trade agreement between the EAEU member states and Iran, which has entered into force, provides new opportunities for businessmen of both countries.

In parallel with the active political dialogue, our cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran covers many other areas: economy, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, culture, environment, etc., in each of which we define new horizons year after year.

A number of existing infrastructure projects between Armenia and Iran have already entered the practical stage, and I must note that these projects are of strategic importance for Armenia.

One of these projects of strategic importance is the 32-kilometer Kajaran-Agarak road section, the construction of which the Armenian side has entrusted to an Iranian company. I am confident that the 32-kilometer road will be commissioned within the specified period, and my colleague and I will have the opportunity to celebrate another success of our two states. Taking into account the increasing volume of transportation between our states, we have reached an agreement on the construction of a second bridge on the Armenia-Iran border.

The most important ongoing project in the energy sector is the third Armenia-Iran power transmission line. We also discussed this issue with my esteemed colleague and we have a clear understanding that the project should be completed as soon as possible. Thanks to the operation of the third line, Armenia will be able to export more electricity to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Your Excellency, Honorable Mr. Pezeshkian,

In conclusion, I must reiterate that Armenia attaches great importance to its strategic relations with Iran. I am confident that, thanks to the continuous active efforts of our governments, we will jointly implement new programs for the benefit of our friendly peoples and states.

Thank you."

Masoud Pezeshkian: "First of all, I would like to thank the Government of Armenia, esteemed Mr. Pashinyan, and the people for the warm welcome.

Armenia is one of our important neighbors, and history testifies to the deep roots of our relations. The presence of the Armenian community in Iran, especially in the border areas, speaks of our civilizational and cultural commonalities, as well as the strong ties of friendship on both sides of the border. Our border has been a bridge of friendship and communication between peoples for the past years.

I would like to emphasize that we wish peace and tranquility to our neighbors, especially for our neighboring state of Armenia. And we believe that integration, as well as friendship, are the best factors for maintaining security, as well as moving towards development.

We have always defended the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, and this is our policy. And we are against the use of any force in the region. We believe that leadership in the region should be Caucasian, and transferring problems outside the region to extra-regional powers will further complicate the situation in the region.

Peace in the Caucasus is a strategic priority of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we support peace negotiations between the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been about the invariability of borders in the region, in the Caucasus, and we believe that these changes can become a cause of geopolitical rivalry.

The Islamic Republic of Iran wants to develop its relations with Armenia in all areas and bring them to a strategic level.

We had excellent discussions with esteemed Prime Minister. Documents were signed today, and as a result, the importance of mutual visits was also emphasized. We have a great will to develop the level of cooperation, especially in the economic sphere. The two countries have potential for cooperation in various fields, including transport, energy, engineering and technical services, culture, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

Iran and Armenia have common interests in activating the Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor. The development of the transit railway, land and sea routes will contribute to the development of trade between the two countries, the creation of common free economic zones. These are considered areas of cooperation between our two countries, around which we had a constructive dialogue.

And we also emphasized the issue of border security.

I once again express my gratitude for the warm welcome. I wish the people of Armenia good health and happiness. I also wish to host the Prime Minister in Iran in the near future."

***

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian participated in the opening of the Armenia-Iran Business Forum. The main goals of the forum are to promote the deepening and diversification of trade and economic ties between Armenia and Iran, to create and develop new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation and the implementation of joint projects, to promote investment flows and the exchange of technological experience, to ensure direct contacts between the participants and the establishment of partnership ties.

Prime Minister Pashinyan made a speech in which he noted .

“Honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Pezeshkian,
Dear colleague,
Dear attendees,

I warmly welcome you all to Yerevan on the occasion of your participation in the Armenia-Iran Business Forum. I would like to emphasize that economic relations and their development are of great importance in the development of bilateral relations between the two friendly states.

In this context, I am pleased to note that the close political relations between the governments of our countries create the necessary environment to promote cooperation between Armenian and Iranian businessmen. Today, with the Statement signed by President Pezeshkian and me, we have reaffirmed our goal of increasing the volume of bilateral trade turnover to 1 billion and then to 3 billion US dollars. Of course, if we could immediately increase it to 3, we would do so, but inevitably we must first increase it to 1 billion, and then to 3. And the most important role in achieving these targets is reserved for representatives of the business community.

Dear colleagues,

Trade turnover between Armenia and Iran has been recording steady growth in recent years. Last year it amounted to 748 million dollars, increasing by almost 6 percent, and in the first half of 2025 this figure reached 346 million, which also indicates steady progress.

We see a rising bar in the import sector year after year: in the first six months of this year alone, imports from Iran increased by more than 10 percent, reaching $300 million. As for exports, they, despite a certain decrease, continue to include such products as electricity, copper concentrate, and agricultural products. This is precisely the foundation on which we must build not only trade, but also joint production, and create mutually beneficial added value.

In this context, I consider the development of cross-border infrastructure important in the energy, transport, and logistics sectors. This is fully consistent with our Government’s “Crossroads of Peace” project, in the implementation of which I must note with satisfaction that Iranian companies are also involved, in particular, an Iranian company is implementing the construction of the 32-kilometer Agarak-Kajaran road section.

The “Crossroads of Peace” aims to create additional interconnections between North and South, East and West. Given Armenia’s strategic location and diversification of foreign relations, Armenia can serve as a gateway for Iranians to both the EAEU and the European Union member states.

Dear guests,

In conclusion, I would like to express my confidence that today's conference will be fruitful in strengthening business ties and establishing new partnerships. I wish success to all participants of the business conference."

In his speech, Masoud Pezeshkian noted that one of the main goals of today's discussions was to contribute to the expansion of trade turnover between the two countries and the elimination of existing problems and obstacles that investors and those engaged in industrial activities will encounter. The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasized that important agreements were reached in all the areas that were touched upon during the discussions in order to create a platform for cooperation for investors and representatives of the trade sector.

According to Masoud Pezeshkian, increasing the volume of bilateral trade turnover to $3 billion is quite achievable and in this context, he emphasized the efforts of the governments of the two countries to make this process smoother. “The rest depends on you, producers, investors and representatives of the industrial sector, if you set bigger goals, you will accomplish bigger works,” the Iranian President said.

Masoud Pezeshkian once again thanked the Government of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, for discussing issues in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and emphasized that it will contribute to the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in various fields.