IRNA – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said on Saturday that Iran and Afghanistan will set up working group to speed up cooperation on energy and carry out the agreements they signed on generation and transmission of electricity.

Speaking to IRNA, Ardakanian said that forming the joint work group has been recommended by Afghan president.

The committee is to discuss the date of holding economic cooperation commission meeting, he added.

He noted that the agreement between Iran and Afghanistan for repairing Afghanistan's turbines and power transformers will be carried out.

Iran and Afghanistan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in electricity industry on August 18.

The MoU included expansion of mutual cooperation in the fields of "repairing and renewing worn out electricity transmission equipment", "construction of Zaranj grid", "synchronize the two countries national grids" and some other related issues in electricity industry.

The MoU was signed by Deputy Minister of Energy for electricity and energy affairs Homayoun Ha'eri and Managing Director of Tavanir Electric Company Mohammad Hassan Motevalizadeh of Iran and Director General of Afghanistan Electric Company Amanollah Ghaleb.

Haeri earlier noted that constructive agreements in line with boosting cooperation were also reached during Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian's recent visit to Kabul.

Establishment of power transmission lines for connecting the two countries' grids is among the terms of the agreements, he said.