Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran expects European Union to take necessary steps to facilitate banking interactions with Tehran.


According to the report by Foreign Ministry Media Department on Saturday, Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.
 Zarif said that the ties have upward trend and through consultations grounds can be prepared for expansion of bilateral political and parliamentary relations.
Enumerating Iran's economic and trade capacities, Zarif said that Iranian companies are ready for cooperation with Lithuanian public and private sectors in the fields of technology, energy, LNG, oil, agriculture, higher education, technical and engineering services .
In the meeting the two sides discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation as well as regional issues.
Concerning Syria's developments, Zarif said that respecting the Syrian people's will is the only solution to the crisis and support for terrorist groups will only undermine ceasefire and make political process more complicated.
Linkevicius, for his part, evaluated Tehran-Vilnius relations as positive and added that Lithuania is interested in expanding economic and trade ties with Iran. He added that Lithuanian companies are ready to deepen their cooperation with Iranian counterparts in post JCPOA era.
He expressed satisfaction with consultations between Iran and Lithuanian officials and added that the Islamic Republic plays an influential role in the region and Lithuania desires to strengthen relations with Iran in political, cultural and parliamentary fields.
At the end of the meeting, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding for political consultations between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says that ground for expansion of ties between Iran and Portugal is ready, especially in the field of tourism.


Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Portuguese Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Costa Oliveira.

He  said that promotion of Persian Language in Portugal is one of the ways to further ties between Iran and the European country.

Zarif underlined that in the field of economy, settlement of banking problems are among considerable issues.

We expect more to be done in this regard, so that the Portuguese companies and banks could easily resume activity in Iran, he said.

Oliveira also underlined teaching both Persian and Portuguese languages in the two countries and said that companies in his country are interests in participating in Iran's market.

He said that the ground is ready for the two countries to cooperate in different fields adding that the time is now ripe to exploit the potential to enhance ties.

The foreign ministers of Iran and New Zealand on Sunday emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral relations, particularly in the economic sector.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had arrived in New Zealand a day earlier on the fifth leg of his Asia-Pacific tour, held a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in Wellington.

Zarif said Tehran is ready to take major steps to expand ties with Wellington in all fields, while McCully, for his part, said Iran plays a leading role in finding ways to settle regional issues.

In another meeting with Iranian nationals residing in New Zealand on Sunday, Zarif called on the nationals to make use of opportunities created after the removal of sanctions against the country.

 
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Zarif said it was actually the Iranian people who made the sanctions fail, adding, “Resistance and wisdom of the [Iranian] nation proved that no Iranian individual should be threatened.”

On February 19, New Zealand lifted its sanctions against Iran following the implementation of Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On January 16, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany — started to implement the JCPOA which was reached between the two sides on July 14, 2015, following two and a half years of intensive talks.

After the JCPOA went into effect, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran, in return, has put some limitations on its nuclear activities.

Zarif arrived in New Zealand after he wrapped up his official two-day trip to Thailand, where he participated in the 14th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting.

He also met with senior Thai officials, including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

The Iranian minister started his six-nation tour on March 6 and paid visits to Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand. At the end of his trip to New Zealand, he is scheduled to visit Australia on the last leg of his tour.

Top foreign policy decision-makers of Iran and EU sat together on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum 2016 to clear away obstacles hindering full implementation of the nuclear deal.

Participating in the meeting were Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini with other senior diplomats.
One key concern of Iran after the implementation of the nuclear deal has been reluctance shown by international banks, including European ones, to normalize ties with Iranian partners, taking fright at possible fines by the U.S.

“In the first four months this year trade between the European Union and Iran increased by 22 percent,” Mogherini told a news conference on Tuesday, adding, “We are very actively engaging with the business community and the banks in Europe and elsewhere to encourage engaging in Iran.”
The unsatisfied Tehran has aired grievances, urging the U.S. to take measures to soothe Europeans’ banking fears.

During his May visit with New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully in Tehran, Zarif lamented that “We have not fully achieved what we must have, and more measures need to be carried out by the U.S.”
The banking challenge will be most likely one major theme of the meeting between Zarif and his American counterpart John Kerry slated for Wednesday.
Under the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, EU terminated limitations on transfers of funds between EU persons and entities, including financial institutions, and Iranian persons and entities, including financial institutions.
Also, EU agreed to allow banking activities, including the establishment of new correspondent banking relationships and the opening of new branches and subsidiaries of Iranian banks in the territories of EU Member States.
Iran expects to reap economic gains from the deal with West and strong banking ties with international partners is key to fulfilling the goal.
Iran and the 5+1 group of countries, including five permanent members of the UN Security Council members plus Germany, forged a deal in July 2015 on Tehran’s nuclear program, resulting in removal of sanctions against Iran in exchange for constraints on the country’s nuclear activities.

 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost political consultations between the two countries.


The MoU was signed shortly after the Zarif’s arrival in Warsaw on Sunday.

The document will facilitate and regulate cooperation between the two countries in politics and other fields including, economy and culture.

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Warsaw, the Iranian foreign minister said expanding cooperation between the two countries' private sectors is the main goal of his tour.

“Our most important agenda is supporting the private sector and the private sector is the economic engine of the country,” Zarif said.

 Zarif, heading a politico-economic delegation left Tehran for Europe. Warsaw, capital of Poland, is the first destination of Zarif's four-nation tour to northern Europe.

A large group of economic and trade activists are accompanying Zarif in his visits to Poland, Finland, Sweden and Latvia.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited Iran on February 28, 2016 simultaneously with the 540th anniversary of establishment diplomatic relations between Iran and Poland.

Political ties between Iran and Poland date back to one thousand years ago and discovered Iranian coins belong to Samanid dynasty (874-1004 A.D.), but, the first written document of official contacts date back to 1474 between King of Iran 'Uzun Hassan Aq-Qoyunlu (1423-1478) and King of Poland 'Yagolini'.

Poland has membership to the UN, WTO, OSCE, OECD, IMF, IBRD, EIB, EBRD, EFTA, CEFTA and NATO.

Describing Iran as the most stable country in West Asia, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif invited New Zealand investors to seize the opportunities in the Iranian market.
Zarif made the statement in an address to a meeting of New Zealand Business Council in Wellington on Monday, which was also attended by ambassadors of the two countries.
Also on Monday, Zarif held talks with a host of other New Zealand officials, including Prime Minister John Key, Trade Minister Todd McClay, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Labour Party Leader Andrew Little.
New Zealand’s trade with Iran could surpass pre-sanctions levels and tap into “vast possibilities”, the Auckland-based newspaper New Zealand Herald quoted Zarif as saying ahead of his meeting with John Key.
“We continue to buy butter and milk products from you, but we are interested in going beyond that and engaging in long-term economic relations with New Zealand,” he told Radio New Zealand on Monday.
He said new trade possibilities include investment in petrochemical products and high-tech areas such as geothermal, nanotechnology and biotechnology.
Iran was New Zealand’s fifth largest trading partner in the 1980s before sanctions hit Iran. Along with many western nations, New Zealand lifted sanctions against Iran last month.
New Zealand exporters describe the removal of sanctions as an opportunity to tap into new markets and renew the country’s relationship with an old trading partner, Radio New Zealand reported.
In his meeting with McClay, the two sides investigated obstacles to strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in the field of banking services, Mehr News Agency reported.
Zarif invited McClay to visit Tehran in the near future.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister met with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully to discuss trade and economic issues. The two ministers signed off on an arrangement between the Export Credit Office and Export Guarantee Fund of Iran, which McCully said would help give exporters more confidence in the trading arrangements.
“We are very pleased to welcome Minister Zarif to New Zealand. His visit is the first by an Iranian foreign minister in over 10 years and allows us to refresh the relationship between our two countries following the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in January,” McCully said.
Later on Monday, Zarif was due to speak at an event for the Institute of International Affairs before leaving for Australia.
The Iranian foreign minister arrived in New Zealand early Saturday as the fifth leg of his Asia-Pacific tour, which started the previous Saturday and also took him to Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.