German FM Hopes for Major Breakthrough in Ties with Iran

(FNA)- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a phone conversation with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Saturday expressed the hope that his October visit to Iran would lead to the further development of Berlin's relations with Tehran.

"Conditions are ripe for the expansion of relations with Iran in all fields," Steinmeier said during the phone talk held from Frankfurt where Larijani had stopped for some hours before heading to New York to participate in the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament at the UN headquarters.

He referred to the proper and positive international conditions created after the nuclear talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), and underlined Iran's strong potentials for economic cooperation.

Steinmeier expressed the hope that during his October trip to Tehran, both sides would be able to take positive steps to develop cooperation.

Larijani, for his part, pointed to Germany's positive role in the recent nuclear negotiations, and voiced hope that the German officials and companies' visits to Tehran would lead to the reinforcement of economic relations between the two countries.

Steinmeier's visit follows last month's three-day visit by German Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel to Tehran.

Earlier this month, Iran’s ambassador to Germany Ali Majedi said that the two countries plan to revive the Tehran-Berlin Joint Economic Commission in a bid to devise a roadmap for promoting bilateral economic ties.

"The Joint Economic Commission will be assembled in near future to take the preliminary steps for the drafting of a roadmap to bolster mutual transactions," Ali Majedi told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily.

Majdei noted that regarding the willingness of German factories to invest in various Iranian industries, those who have applied to run operation in Iran are urged to manufacture top quality products and transfer the technological know-how to Iran after making investments and launching production lines in the country.

"Small-and mid-sized German companies can set up their businesses and manufacture their products in Iran where they may also receive their trademark quality certifications," he said.

"The energy sector and automobile industry are areas where both countries can launch cooperation," the ambassador added.

After the interim agreement with the G5+1 in Geneva on November 23, 2013, large delegations from across the world came to Tehran to win a share of the country's emerging lucrative market.

And following the recent agreement hammered out between Iran and the sextet in the Austrian capital on June 14, Iran has been inundated with an overflow of offers made by various European companies who have lined-up to enter the country's markets. Offers have been presented not in written proposals, but also through emails and even phone calls.