Dubai: India and Iran have agreed to improve bilateral ties, particularly in consular affairs and provision of broader facilities for both countries nationals visits, that resulted in signing of a MoU.

The MoU pertains to agreements on easier issuance of visas, providing better facilities for residents and students of each country in the other, as well as establishment of a committee to pursue the implementation of the agreements.

Both countries held their Fourth Shared Consular Meeting in Teheran yesterday, led by director generals of two countries foreign ministries consular head offices.

A report in official Iranian news agency, Irna, said following two days of intensive negotiations, the two sides exchanged viewpoints on ways to improve bilateral ties, particularly in consular affairs.

The two sides expressed satisfaction over the final results, including the agreements on providing broader consular services and facilitating the visits of both countries nationals in the other country, said the report.

Describing the discussions as satisfactory, Director General of the Consular Affairs Office of Iranian foreign ministry, Seyed Hossein Mir-Fakh khar, said they were in line with ever increasing expansion of bilateral ties.

The shared consular meetings of the two countries are held alternatively in Tehran and New Delhi. Meanwhile, various projects including establishment of 2,500 km pipeline for gas transfer inaugurated in 2008 in Iran will require over $3 billion for its completion, Deputy oil minister and managing director of Iran s National Gas Company, Reza Kassaei-Zadeh, said.
Source : PTI