Minister of Industry and Electricity Dr. Hashem Bin Abdullah Yamani, yesterday and today,

met in Tehran with a number of Iranian officials. With Iranian Energy Minister Habullah

Beitraf he discussed the possibility of a mutual opening up of the industrial markets of

the two countries. At a press conference following this meeting, Dr. Yamani praised the

power system in Iran, which has a production capacity of nearly 30,000 megawatts, and

observed that per capita consumption of energy in Saudi Arabia far exceeds that in Iran.
With Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bejan Zenkna Dr. Yamani discussed cooperation in the

areas of petroleum, gas and petrochemicals as well as the generation of electric power. He

then visited the Sadeed industrial complex. Meeting with Iranian Minister of Industry

Ghulam Ridha Shafi, he discussed increasing mutual investment projects as well as

exchanging experiences in all fields. With Iranian Minister of Trade Shariat Madari he

discussed ways of boosting relations through the joint Saudi-Iranian Committee which they

co-chair, including increasing the export of Saudi products to Iranian markets, and

encouraging Iranian industrialists to benefit from the Kingdom's raw materials. Dr. Yamani

also conferred with Iranian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Hussein Kamali, and with

Iranian Minister of Minerals and Mines Is-haq Jahangiri.

After visiting Tehran's international exhibition, which displays products from over 1,000

companies from all over the world, Dr. Yamani expressed admiration over what he had seen of

the Iranian exhibits, remarking on the great strides that Iran's industry has made.
Today, addressing a meeting of Saudi and Iranian businessmen, Dr. Yamani declared that the

best means of cooperation would be common efforts between the private sectors of the two

countries to improve opportunities for the products of each country to enter the other's

market, and to establish common investments.  He pointed out that the electricity sector

could provide such a joint effort, while contributing to rationalization of energy

consumption, and to reduction in the costs of power generation, training, operation, and

maintenance. Yesterday, Dr. Yamani and his accompanying delegation visited the Khodro

Automobile Assembly Plant, where they were briefed on the manufacture of trucks and their

spare parts. Dr. Yamani commented that Saudi businessmen were considering a project with

their Iranian counterparts to set up a similar plant in the Kingdom.

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