TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who was on a five-day trip to Europe met Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and the newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron among other top officials from the two countries.

Zarif held talks with Macron in Elysee Palace on Friday and submitted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's written message to him.

Macron and Zarif also discussed regional, international issues as well as bilateral relationship.

On Thursday, Zarif also held a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. During the meeting Zarif called for expanding banking relations between the two countries.

Iran is seeking closer ties with France in various areas especially economy, Zarif stated.

Economic relations between Tehran and Paris have greatly improved since the nuclear deal between Iran and great powers including France went into force.

The July 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), went into force in January 2016. 

The Iranian foreign minister said that implementation of the nuclear deal benefits all.

For his part, Le Drian expressed support for implementation of the nuclear agreement. After his meeting with Zarif, Le Drian tweeted that he will follow the path of dialogue with Iran.

Zarif also held a separate meeting with Gerard Larcher, the president of the French Senate.

Larcher said France attaches great importance to ties with Iran and is willing to have “continuous political consultations” with it.

Zarif who started his tour of Europe on Monday first visited Germany, where he addressed the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and held talks with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Federal Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schauble. 

Talks with Italian PM

After concluding his visit to Germany, Zarif headed to Rome, Italy, holding talks on bilateral relations with Prime Minister Gentiloni on Wednesday.

In a separate meeting with President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Laura Boldrini, Iran’s chief diplomat called for ways to expand relations.

Zarif invited Boldrini to visit Iran.

He also met separately with Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano.

Alfano said the JCPOA benefits international stability and expressed support for full implementation of the international deal.

He also said Italy seeks to expand relations with Tehran.

President Rouhani visited Italy and France immediately for the announcement of the lifting of sanctions against Iran in January 2016. 

The main goal of Rouhani’s tour to Rome and Paris was to promote a stronger economic relationship between Iran and the European Union. During his visit to Rome, Iran and Italy signed contracts with a total value of $18 billion. While in Paris, Rouhani also signed a contract to purchase about 100 Airbus planes. 

NA/PA