IRAN LOOKS AT BULGARIA AS A GATEWAY TO EUROPE

Iran looks at Bulgaria as a gateway to Europe, the Iranian Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani said in a meeting with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on 12th of July.

The Bulgarian PM said that reaching a historic agreement on the issue of Iran's nuclear programme and the subsequent enhanced dialogue between the EU and Tehran paved the way for restarting the Bulgarian-Iranian economic relations.

Ali Larijani said that Iran looked at Bulgaria as a gateway to the European Union in order to develop its economic relations with the European countries.

The potential possibility of Iran buying the Russian-made reactor equipment produced for the cancelled Belene nuclear project and cooperation in the energy sector were the focus in the talks between Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister, Tomislav Donchev, energy minister, Temenuzhka Petkova and the Vice President and Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi.

Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Petkova informed Ali Salehi about the decision of the Arbitration Court in Geneva on the trade dispute between the Bulgarian National Electricity Company (NEC) and the Russian company "Atomstroyexport" in connection with the cancelled project for the construction of Belene NPP. The arbitration decision ordered Bulgaria to pay 535 million euro to the Russian company and to acquire the reactor equipment produced by it for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the town of Belene.

photo:BTA