TEHRAN— Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani who is on a European tour, arrived in Serbia early on Friday. He then had a fairly jam-packed schedule, having six meetings in a day.

On Friday afternoon, Bagheri Kani met with Serbia’s State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Stevan Nikcevic.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat referred to the shared experience of the two countries in facing cruel and unilateral sanctions, noting that sanctions are external and bureaucratic problems and an internal obstacle in the way of developing the two countries’ economic cooperation.

Bagheri Kani further stressed the need to remove those hindrances and exchange experiences through appropriate approaches.

He hoped that Iran’s foreign minister would travel to Serbia and the Serbian president would travel to Iran in the near future. 

According to the top diplomat, those trips could demonstrate the leaders of the two countries’ determination to develop relations in all fields.

For his part, Nikcevic enumerated the available capacities for enhancement of economic relations and expressed hope that the 16th Joint Economic Commission would be held immediately after the Serbia’s new administration is formed.

He added that the level of economic and trade relations did not match political ties.

During the meeting, both sides stressed the importance of starting expert-level talks to hammer out a free trade agreement and using creative mechanisms to enhance economic exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Later, as part of his busy schedule in Belgrade, Bagheri Kani held an interactive session with representatives of some Serbian media outlets.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat said based on the agreements reached between the two sides, the legal foundations of Iran-Serbia ties will see a boost with the signing of important documents to cooperate in political, economic and cultural areas in the near future.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister pointed to the outcome of his negotiations with Serbian officials, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran and Serbia are seeking to enhance mutual cooperation in different sectors, given their long-running history of relations and common interests.”

Bagheri announced plans for the signing of significant cooperation documents in different fields including economy, trade, fight against organized crimes, employment, sports-social welfare, hygiene, and higher education in the near future.

These documents are scheduled to be signed and exchanged between the two sides as part of the planned agenda of Iran’s foreign minister’s visit to Belgrade and the Serbian president’s trip to Tehran, he added.

During the visit, the deputy foreign minister explained Iran’s positions on the nuclear talks, the crisis in Ukraine, and issues related the energy crisis.

Bagheri Kani holds high-level economic talks in Belgrade

Later, as part of his talks with Serbian officials, Bagheri Kani sat down with State Secretary of Serbia’s Ministry of Finance Gojko Stanivukovic.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister pointed to the two countries’ experience with the United States’ cruel sanctions. He described bureaucratic issues as one of the main obstacles to the expansion of economic cooperation between the two sides and stressed the necessity of removing those obstacles.

For his part, the Serbian official emphasized his country’s political will for economic cooperation with Iran, noting that the current level of trade exchanges between the two sides is not enough.

The deputy finance minister expressed Serbia’s readiness for consultations with the Iranian side and putting forward initiatives toward making use of the two countries’ economic capacities.

The two sides also emphasized the formation of a joint working group to study ways of removing the obstacles facing economic cooperation, especially those related to sanctions.