Senior officials from Iran and the European Union are slated to open talks in the Iranian capital of Tehran and the central city of Isfahan over strengthening ties. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi and the secretary general of European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid, will chair the third round of Iran-EU talks on Monday.
Araqchi and Schmid plan to discuss various issues of mutual interest in the sectors of trade, economic and cultural cooperation, energy, environment, transportation, human rights, higher education, research and technology as well as the latest developments in the region.
The sides have held two rounds of discussions in Tehran and Brussels over the past two years.
Araqchi, Schmid and the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, are also set to hold a seminar at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center (INTC) on prospects and progress of nuclear cooperation.
Iran and the EU have succeeded in increasing trade ties after the implementation of the multilateral nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
In a closed-door meeting, chaired by European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, in Luxembourg in mid-October, EU foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for the historic nuclear agreement, saying the accord was working and was a key component of non-proliferation efforts.
After the meeting, the foreign ministers issued a statement, expressing their determination to fully implement the international nuclear agreement.
/SR
