PanARMENIAN.Net - Tatra trucks set to be manufactured in a soon-to-be-launched factory in Armenia will be sold to Iran.

Tatra is a Czech manufacturer producing vehicles. Owned by the Tatra Truck company, it is the second oldest company in the world producing cars with an unbroken history, after Peugeot.

A truck production factory will be built in Armenia’s Kotayk province, according to a memorandum signed between Tatra Trucks and Zenon LLC. The deal is the result of an agreement reached between prime minister Karen Karapetyan and Russia-based Armenian business people.

Chief of Gazprom Armenia Artashat branch Andranik Harutyunyan told PanARMENIAN.Net that the deal was made possible due to his own personal connections.

“The Czech side are my friends, and I have worked with the prime minister for years. So I serve as a link between the two,” Harutyunyan said, adding that negotiations over creating the factory started back in November.

“Once we launched the talks, I had a personal meeting with the Iranian ambassador to Armenia to brief him on the preliminary agreements,” Harutyunyan said.

“The Iranian side accepted the perspective with great enthusiasm, taking into account the EU sanctions. We thus secured a large market for the sale of trucks. “

According to Harutyunyan, the trucks will be exchanged for Iranian goods, which will be consumed in the Armenian and Russian markets alike.

A second phase of the deal will seek to sell the trucks to Russia, which is deemed a wise move in the light of the sanctions against the country, Harutyunyan said. “No sanctions last forever, so we must try to benefit from the situation while we can,” he remarked.