Baku, Azerbaijan, June 18
Trend:
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani will pay an official visit to Switzerland and Austria in coming weeks, the official website of the president said June 18.
Heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, Rouhani will visit the two European countries at the invitation of the counterparts in early July.
Rouhani will travel first to Bern for a two-day visit, where he is scheduled to meet with the President of Switzerland Alain Berset and Iranians residing in the country, and attend the ceremony for signing of different cooperation documents in political, economic and cultural fields.
the Swiss government said in a statement on June 18 that a number of agreements and declarations of intent were expected to be signed during the visit, including the Iran nuclear agreement and the situation in the Near and Middle East.
“Further issues include the protecting power mandate which Switzerland exercises on behalf of the US in Iran (since 1980), and that on behalf of Iran in Saudi Arabia and of Saudi Arabia in Iran, which recently came into effect,” the statement said.
The Iranian president will then leave Bern heading for Vienna, Austria and meet with the senior Austrian officials including Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and similarly oversee the signing of several documents for cooperation.
Rouhani will be accompanied by a number of ministers including foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and political and economic officials, as well as entrepreneurs and the representatives of Iranian private sector.
The visit comes after the US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal, signed between Tehran and the six world powers in 2015.
Following the US decision, Iran said it will not continue the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) without receiving enough guarantees from three European countries, including the UK, France, and Germany.
European countries are trying to save the deal and ensure that Iran remains in the agreement through pledging incentives to the Islamic Republic.