Oman is eager to draw on the experience and technology of Iranian dam engineers in its water projects, said Omani Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Shihi.
"We could use Iran's know-how in water management," he told Tasnim News Agency.
While touring dam, water and wastewater projects during his recent visit to Iran, Shihi found the technologies "up-to-the-minute and inventive".
"Noteworthy innovative notions had gone into some of the projects to harmonize them with their implementation context," he said. The Omani minister said he was heartened to make the trip by the reports he had previously received on the successfully implemented water management projects in Iran.
"Once I made it here and visited project sites up close, I was confident that Oman could also benefit from such potential," he said.
Shihi stressed that common climatic conditions in both states could pave the way for mutual cooperation in water projects.
"Both states are located in arid regions despite having access to open waters and coastlines, and get less precipitation than the average rainfall of 750 millimeters in the world," he said.
Last week, Iran signed a deal with Oman to conduct gas export studies to the Persian Gulf country on the sidelines of a meeting between Iranian and Omani oil ministers, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Mohammed al-Rumhi in Tehran respectively, to explore grounds for cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
Iran is the world’s third leading country in dam construction, with some 200 contracting companies, 70 consultant firms and 30 corporations as well as hundreds of hydroelectric manufacturing units operating projects in 40 countries.
Over the past three decades, it has built 600 dams, an average of 20 a year, to irrigate farms and provide electricity.
Another Omani official, Yahya Al Jabri, chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm, also arrived in Tehran on Monday at the head of a 16-member delegation to explore areas of economic collaboration with Iran.
