Iran is ready to play a bigger role in Cyprus' energy market by carrying out a wide range of projects in the Mediterranean country, managing director of Iran Power & Water Equipment and Services Export Company (aka Sunir) said on Friday.
Bahman Salehi added that he explored grounds for cooperation in the energy sector in a meeting this week with Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Nicos Kouyialis, Shana reported. The two sides discussed cooperation in renewable energies as well as the prospect of carrying out water pipeline projects by Sunir in Cyprus.
"Sunir has the capacity to carry out projects in Cyprus by using banking relations under a strategic partnership. The Cypriot official is keen to expand mutual relations with Sunir," he said.
Salehi added that the lifting of western sanctions against Iran in January has paved the way for Sunir to expand its reach in regional countries and far-off markets such as Cyprus.
Iran has had limited trade ties with the small European Union member state. Data show exports to Cyprus were shy of $900,000 in 2013, while imports stood at around $6.2 million.
A small country with an estimated population of 1.1 million, Cyprus is potentially a lucrative market for energy-rich Iran that sits on some of the world's largest hydrocarbon resources. Cyprus is an island with no indigenous hydrocarbon energy sources and almost entirely relies on imported fuels for electricity generation.
Currently, the primary imported fuel used for electricity generation is heavy fuel oil and diesel, the two petroleum products that Iran can handily offer to Cyprus. The country's power generation system consists of three thermal power stations with a total installed capacity of 1,480 megawatts.
