 |
Iran, EU Ready for More Cooperation
In their fifth round of "constructive dialog" held here on Wednesday, Iran and the European Union (EU) voiced their determination to bolster cooperation in various fields.
The Iranian panel was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Morteza Sarmadi and the other side by Portuguese Deputy Foreign Minister Francisco Costa, whose country is the current rotating chairman of the EU.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said after the talks that it is necessary for Iran and the EU to continue their dialog in order to promote mutual understanding, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
In a meeting with Costa, Kharrazi termed as positive the Iran-EU cooperation in bilateral, regional and international fields.
He cited the campaign against narcotics smuggling and the problem with refugees as the most important grounds for cooperation between Iran and the 15-nation European group.
Drug producers in Afghanistan are smuggling narcotics to Europe via Iran, hence the more the European countries cooperate with Iran in campaign against drugs, the less their problems in this respect would be, said Kharrazi.
He expressed satisfaction with the planned formation of working groups by Iran and the EU for mutual cooperation in anti-drug campaigns and other fields.
Costa termed the outcome of the fifth Iran-EU dialogue as comprehensive, helpful and fruitful, stressing the importance of forming working groups for further convergence and understanding.
He highlighted various dimensions of dialogue and cooperation between Iran and the EU, including trade, investment, anti-drug campaigns and regional issues.
During the one-day meeting, the two sides exchanged views on such areas of bilateral cooperation as energy, transportation, commerce and investment, narcotics, refugees and the environment, IRNA reported.
They also discussed regional issues such as those pertaining to Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia and the Balkans as well as international issues on disarmament, terrorism and human rights.
Previous four rounds of talks were held in Tehran and European capitals.
The EU and Iran started their so-called "constructive dialogue" in July 1998, instead of the previous "critical dialogue," following a warm-up between the two sides after President Mohammad Khatami started a new policy of detente in 1997.
The EU launched the so-called "critical dialogue" with Iran in December 1992 with an aim to soften Iran's policies on the Middle East peace process, international terrorism and production of weapons of mass destruction.
The dialogue was suspended in April 1997 after a Berlin court verdict accused Iranian leaders of being behind a terrorist assassination of Iranian dissidents in Germany.
The EU decided to resume talks with Iran in March 1998 after the two sides ended the diplomatic row over the Berlin court ruling.
In This Section
|