Berlin Praises the Nuclear Deal, Seeks Strengthening Relations with Tehran

Local Editor

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday that he told Iranian President Hassan Rouhani he was welcome to visit Germany the next time he comes to Europe.

Speaking after meeting Rouhani in Tehran, Steinmeier said he urged him "to keep Germany in mind as a destination on his next trip to Europe."

Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening during a press conference in Tehran, Steinmeier praised the Iranian nuclear deal that was implemented in mid-January, adding that both nations seek to strengthen bilateral relations.

The German diplomat was quoted as saying: "I am confident the [nuclear deal] made the world and region safer, and for the years to come narrowed prospects of nuclearization of the region."

During Steinmeier's second visit in three months to the Islamic Republic he met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, and he was also due to meet with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.

In his remarks, Steinmeier indicated that the nuclear accord could help foster a political solution to halt bloodshed in the Middle East, pointedly the more than four-year-old Syrian conflict.

Steinmeier's visit came as European companies and bank want to seize new trading opportunities after the lifting of sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.

After lifting the international sanctions, Iran became now the biggest economy to rejoin the global trading system since the Soviet Union broke up more than two decades ago and major international companies are rushing to establish a position in Iran.

For decades before sanctions were imposed, Germany was Iran's biggest trading partner. The gap in Iranian imports from Germany and other Western countries has largely been filled by Chinese, Korean and Middle Eastern competitors.

Relatively, the International Monetary Fund expects Iran's economy to expand 4.3 percent this year, with growth at or above 4 percent in the next two years.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team