New Round of Political Talks in Bern

Iran and Switzerland held a second round of political talks in line with a roadmap that the two countries devised last February to enhance bilateral relations.

The talks were held in the Swiss city of Bern on Friday between Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, and the State Secretary at the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pascale Baeriswyl, Press TV reported.

Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann visited Tehran last February, meeting with Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

Schneider-Ammann and Rouhani decided to have the roadmap devised, and the two sides signed six memorandums of understanding in scientific and technical fields and chose to step up their cooperation in the area of tourism.

The visit was followed by a first round of political talks between Takht-Ravanchi and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in Bern last June.

The follow-up talks on Friday saw the two sides laying emphasis on further enhancement of mutual relations. They also featured discussions on increased cooperation against instability and toward fighting terrorism as an international threat.

Takht-Ravanchi pointed to the recent developments in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, which has seen Saudi Arabia and some of its allies cutting ties with Qatar. He said the Islamic Republic's policy in this case is to push for cooperation for the sake of peace and stability and easing of regional tensions.

Baeriswyl condoled with the Iranian nation and government over the recent Islamic State terrorist attacks in Tehran, which claimed 17 lives. The Swiss president and foreign minister had extended their condolences over the incident earlier.

Baeriswyl also referred to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers as a "valuable" achievement of the international community, and called for its complete implementation.

The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was reached in July 2015 and ended a long-running dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.