Russia has opened a five-billion-U.S. dollar credit line to fund Iran's plans to develop its water resources, semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

Iran and Russia have been cooperating on projects to explore and exploit deep water resources in the country, Iran's Deputy Energy Minister Rahim Meidani was quoted as saying.

An earlier agreement on the projects entailed the allocation of credit line by the Russians, he said.

A portion of the credit line, which has also been approved by the Iranian Majlis (parliament), will be used for joint exploration activities in deep waters of Iran, Meidani said.

The exploration project is expected to cost 250 million U.S. dollars, he added.

"Cooperation between Iran and Russia in the field of water reservoirs exploration is limited to geophysical activities," he noted.

On Tuesday, Iran and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on water management and optimal utilization of water resources.

Iran also signed a similar document with South Africa in April to cooperate on water resources management.

Earlier, Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said that Iran was facing a very serious and complicated water crisis.

He blamed the crisis on climate change and the excessive use of water for sanitation, agriculture and industry, and on the improper use of water by the public.

Many lakes, wells and other water sources have dried up in the country over the past decade, Chitchian said.

A recent study conducted by the World Resources Institute ranked Iran as the world's 24th most water-stressed nation.

Source : XINHUA