National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and Russian gas company Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on gas trade and investment Tuesday in a ceremony in Tehran, Iran.

Managing director of NIGC Hamid Reza Araqi and deputy managing director of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev signed the deal in the presence of Iranian co-chairman of Joint Economic Commission Mahmoud Vaezi and Russian energy minister Alexander Novak, reported Irna.

A Russian 30-member delegation paid a visit to Iran last January and first meeting for cooperation of the two companies was convened.

Given extensive dimensions of gas industry, it was decided by the meeting to form five working groups on various areas such as gas trade and research and development.

It was declared at the meeting that Iran has the capacity to make over $62 billion investment in gas sector in the coming years.

After a lapse of a year since the establishment of specialized working groups of NIGC and Gazprom, a cooperation deal was also signed by Araqi and Medvedev.