It is necessary for Iran and Italy to increase efforts to boost bilateral economic cooperation, the Italian foreign minister said.
Paolo Gentiloni made the remarks in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Sunday, IRNA reported.
The top Italian diplomat referred to “concerted” and “useful” cooperation between the two countries in the campaign against illicit drug trafficking and said, “Iran and Italy should take greater steps to expand bilateral economic cooperation and (for this purpose) they should not wait for the outcome of the talks in Geneva (between Iran and the six major powers on the Tehran’s nuclear program).”
He said, “Iran and Italy enjoy long-standing relations which have lasted despite ups and downs over the past decades.”
He noted that the main goal of his trip to Iran is to declare the Italian government’s firm resolve to promote relations with Iran.
He touched on the growing transactions between Italian and Iranian companies in recent months and reiterated that Iran-Italy business relations have been enhanced compared with previous years, while they are still far from their highs.
The Italian official said Rome firmly believes a nuclear agreement between Iran and the major powers would be to the benefit of Iran, Italy and the world community, pointing out, “We do our utmost in support of the negotiations and we are hopeful that we can witness the signing of a nuclear agreement, which ensures the lifting of the sanctions (against Iran) in the first step.”
Mutual Trust
The president, for his part, referred to the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), stating, “The nuclear negotiations are essentially meant to try to reach a common ground and build mutual trust, and we believe all sanctions should be lifted in one phase.”
He referred to frequent contacts between the two countries’ top-ranking officials since his administration took office in August 2013 and said the increasing exchange of business delegations, consultations between officials and expansion and reinforcement of bilateral cooperation are not only beneficial to both countries, but they “serve the interests of the region and the whole world.”
He pointed to the great potential for enhancing business relations between the two countries and reiterated, “Iran and Italy as two (great) civilizations in the world, have consistently enjoyed good relations and Tehran welcomes promotion of bilateral cooperation and relations.”
