Prague, 4 February 1997 (RFE/RL) - An Iranian delegation lead by Minister of Industries, Muhammad Reza Neematzadeh, is holding talks in Kyiv. The talks center on Ukraine-Iran cooperation in engineering and on prospects for tri-lateral relations within the framework of the Ukraine-Iran-Turkmenistan Committee for Cooperation.
Iran has said it is interested in purchasing energy equipment and also equipment for the construction and modernization of steel mills and pulp-and-paper enterprises. Interfax news agency yesterday also said Ukraine and Iran are also discussing cooperation in implementing national programs in the metallurgical, chemical and transport industries.
Within the framework of the 1996 tri-partite Ukraine-Iran-Turkmenistan Committee, repayment of mutual debts is being discussed. Talks focus on swapping goods in exchange for energy debts. Ukraine and Turkmenistan are in debt to Iran.