Armenia is willing to import more gas from Iran, prime minister Karen Karapetyan has said at a meeting with the Islamic Republic's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh in Tehran, The Financial Tribune revealed.

At a meeting between Zanganeh and Karapetyan in Tehran on Tuesday, October 10 the sides explored avenues for boosting natural gas trade.

"Apart from the natural gas that is exchanged with electricity between the two states, Armenia is willing to import more gas from Iran," Karapetyan said, noting that serious talks are underway with the National Iranian Gas Company.

According to Karapetyan, swapping natural gas from Turkmenistan to Armenia was another issue the two sides nodded in agreement.

"Tehran has agreed to cooperate with Yerevan in swap operations," the Armenian official added without elaborating.

Welcoming Armenia's interest in purchasing more natural gas from Iran, Zanganeh said promoting collaboration with the neighboring state in gas and power sectors is on the agenda.

The two sides also exchanged views about establishing a joint venture for transferring Iran's gas to Georgia, among other destinations, through Armenia.

In 2004, Tehran signed a 20-year contract with Yerevan to export gas to its northern neighbor. Based on the agreement, Iran's natural gas is used by Armenian power plants to generate electricity, which is then exported to Iran. The cross-border gas pipeline was commissioned in 2007 and exports began in mid 2009. Armenia's Energy Minister Levon Yolyan has already offered the prospect of raising gas imports from Iran to more than 3 million cubic meters per day by 2018 from the present 1 mcm/d.