A senior South Korean diplomat will make a trip to Iran this week, the East Asian country’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, with a deal in sight in the talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The two-day trip starting Friday by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong is aimed at laying the groundwork for closer bilateral economic cooperation and partnerships in other fields, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Cho is scheduled to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart, Morteza Sarmadi, on Saturday.
“The two sides plan to discuss ways for the development of South Korea-Iran relations on the basis of a review of issues of mutual concern in wide-ranging sectors, including economy, culture, health care and development cooperation, as well as political ties, including the exchange of high-level figures,” the ministry said in a press release.
Cho will be the first South Korean vice foreign minister to visit Tehran in a decade.
Cho’s visit comes as Iran is in the final stage of negotiations with the P5+1 (the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany) on its nuclear program. They have set June 30 as the deadline for an agreement.
Once a final deal is struck and sanctions on Iran are lifted, it is expected to seek many joint economic projects with other countries.
