FM Pusic in official visit to Iran, talks on boosting economic cooperation

Croatian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic met on Sunday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the second day of her official visit to Iran, Pusic's ministry said.

Your visit will strengthen the bilateral relations between our two countries, and Croatia is very important to us as a member of the European Union, Zarif said.

Pusic said she was pleased with the visit, which is taking place at a very important moment for international relations, from the situation in the region to Iran's nuclear negotiations. She was confident the conditions existed for completing the negotiations successfully, saying Croatia strongly pushed for that.

Pusic also underlined the importance of the fight against terrorism and extremism, and pushed for boosting economic cooperation.

Zarif briefed her about Iran's positions on the nuclear negotiations, saying it was fully ready for their successful completion and the lifting of sanctions. He underlined the importance of intensifying economic relations, both bilateral with Croatia and between Iran and other EU countries.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Zarif said the talks were excellent and very exhaustive, and that Croatia was Iran's friend within the EU.

He highlighted the importance of the fight against extremism and violence as well as the need to understand the problem more deeply and more comprehensively, notably in light of the fact that Islamic State fighters came from Europe as second or third generation immigrants.

He said Croatia could be an example because of its excellent relations with different communities, notably Muslims.

This was Pusic's second meeting with her Iranian counterpart. They first met in 2013 on the fringes of a UN General Assembly meeting, and both will attend a security conference in Munich on February 6-8.

(Hina) ha

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