TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian and Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi held an online meeting to discuss joining the two countries' electricity networks via sea, Iran’s Energy Ministry portal (Paven) reported on Monday.

During the online meeting, the two sides also discussed a regional initiative for developing cooperation in the field of unconventional water resources, including seawater desalination and the use of treated wastewater.

As reported, the mentioned issue had been discussed and approved at a recent meeting of the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) hosted by Tehran.

In this regard, Al-Kaabi announced his country’s readiness for participating in this initiative and suggested that regular meetings would be held in the region’s countries so that experts could exchange information on the related projects.

Further in the meeting, Ardakanian, who is also the chair of the two countries’ joint economic committee, referred to the continuous exchange of electricity between Iran and its neighbors, saying that Qatar at some points has surplus electricity generation which can be swapped with the countries in the region such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq through Iran.

Mentioning the possibility of joining the two countries electricity networks, Al-Kaabi said: "Electricity transfer between the two countries is possible and this proposal should be worked on.”

“In my opinion, this idea is practical and it is possible to implement it," he said.

"Regarding cooperation in energy and water, good fields of cooperation can be defined with the presence of the private sector of the two countries,” the official added.

EF/MA

Photo: Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian (L) and his Qatari counterpart