Iran, France to Establish Joint Commission


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – French Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Matthias Fekl announced that the Western European country and Iran plan to set up a joint commission to advance “strategic” plans in various economic fields.

Speaking in a meeting with Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi in Tehran on Tuesday, Fekl pointed to a recent nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers in the Austrian capital of Vienna and said he thinks that with this deal, a new path has opened for closer cooperation between Tehran and Paris.

He further described bilateral relations between Iran and France as “age-old” and said given the new political atmosphere after the nuclear agreement, his country plans to cooperate with Iran in all possible fields.

The French minister went on to say that in the talks between senior officials of the two countries, it has been agreed that a joint commission be formed to boost the “strategic programs”.

Currently, a French delegation comprising officials of about 150 French companies, and led by Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll and the trade minister, is in Iran for talks on expansion of economic ties between the two countries.

The visit comes against the backdrop of a new wave of renewed interest in ties with Iran after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

The comprehensive nuclear deal would terminate all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran after coming into force.

Experts believe that Iran’s economic growth would rise remarkably after the final nuclear deal takes effect.