TEHRAN — Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infra- structure Davit Khudatyan, who is on a working visit to Iran, met with Ira- nian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, according to Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infra- structure. The two officials discussed in- creasing the volume of natural gas sup- plied to Armenia and expanding bilat- eral trade in the energy sector. During the meeting, the sides agreed to establish a specialized joint working group that will explore new areas of energy cooperation and de- velop joint initiatives. Iran’s Mehr News Agency previ- ously reported that the working group would primarily focus on natural gas trade. The Iranian oil minister noted that the existing energy partnership be- tween the two countries is based on the gas-for-electricity exchange agree- ment. However, he said Iran had pro- posed a new commercial framework aimed at increasing its natural gas ex- ports. According to IRNA, following the meeting, Paknejad described Armenia as “one of the Islamic Republic’s very good neighbors,” emphasizing that the two countries have numerous opportu- nities for cooperation, particularly in the energy sector, that should be fur- ther developed. The Armenian side reported that the meeting also addressed the expan- sion of cooperation and the deepening of bilateral engagement in infrastruc- ture and the oil industry. On July 19, Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani said that the volume of natural gas supplied from Iran to Armenia would soon be dou- bled. Since 2009, Armenia has imported natural gas from Iran, converted it into electricity at a thermal power plant, and supplied the electricity back to Iran. The original agreement was sched- uled to expire in 2026. However, in August 2023, Armenia and Iran ex- tended the gas-for-electricity program through 2030.