Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who is visiting Armenia for an official and bilateral meeting and at the invitation of his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyian, held two rounds of talks with the top Armenian diplomat. They discussed the most important issues related to bilateral ties between Tehran and Yerevan in different areas and also major regional developments. Amirabdollahian pointed to the age-old relations between Iran and Armenia and stressed the significance of bolstering, promoting and redefining ties in different spheres, particularly in economic and transit cooperation. The Iranian foreign minister also spoke about trade ties and said the two sides are capable of increasing the volume of commercial exchanges from the current 700 million dollars to 1 billion dollars given their current potentials. Amirabdollahian underlined the need for efforts by Iran and Armenia, especially through benefiting from the capacities of the private sectors, to implement agreements on different areas such as transportation, energy and agriculture as well as export of technical engineering services. The Iranian foreign minister said the opening of consulate general of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kapan aimed at facilitating consular affairs, shows the depth of cooperation between Tehran and Yerevan. Amirabdollahian expressed hope that the opening of the Iranian consulate general will speed up expansion of bilateral cooperation.  Amirabdollahian also spoke about regional issues. He once again underscored the principled policy of the Islamic Republic to clearly oppose any changes in the international borders across the region. The top Armenian diplomat for his part outlined the latest developments in the region, appreciating Iran’s stance on regional issues and developments. Referring to the economic cooperation between Iran and Armenia, Mirzoyian underlined the need to continue and promote this cooperation. He, in particular, described joint work in the field of transit along the North-South Corridor as important. The Foreign Ministry’s deputy for the consular, parliamentary and Iranian expatriates affairs also attended the meeting during which some of the consular problems of Iranian nationals were discussed. The Armenian side reaffirmed Yerevan ‘s readiness to provide assistance in this regard. Messrs. Biglarian and Shaverdian, two MPs representing Iranian Armenians at Iran’s parliament and members of the Iran-Armenia Friendship Group, are also accompanying Amirabdollahian on this trip.