DUSHANBE, June 26, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Iran’s Minister of Energy Majid Namjou has said that Iran is currently conducting negotiations with Tajikistan to transit electrical power from Central Asia to Turkey and further to Europe, Iran’s world news network, Press TV, reported.

To connect Iran’s power grid to that of Tajikistan a new 500-kilovolt power transmission line must be built via the territory of Afghanistan, Namjou said on June 24.  

Meanwhile, Iran’s Ministry of Energy News Agency reported on June 25 that Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou announced that Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan are due to build a joint power line after a final agreement on the project.  “A common power line among three countries will be built after a final agreement is reached by Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan,” Namjou said.

Namjou said on Sunday that exchange and transit of electricity among neighboring countries was a policy of the Iranian Energy Ministry, noting that Iran and Tajikistan can exchange as much as 500 kilovolts of electricity.

“By importing inexpensive electricity from some neighboring countries, it is possible to transit electrical power to countries demanding it,” he said.

Iran’s Ministry of Energy News Agency reported on May 29 that Namjou said that Iran is holding talks with Tajikistan on import of at least 1 billion cubic meters of drinking water.