Ambassador: Iran As NAM Chief Can Cooperate, Interact With EU

Vienna, Aug 30, IRNA – Iran’s Ambassador to Austria Hassan Tajik said that Iran as the chief of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) could cooperate and interact with the European Union which has an important position as an international body. In an exclusive interview with IRNA on Thursday, he commented on the prospective of Iran-EU relations, saying that both have large capacities to promote relations. Regretting that due to certain reasons, the level of mutual cooperation has dropped in recent years especially from the EU side, he said many economic and social issues like drugs trafficking, refugees, organized crimes, energy, terrorism, human rights and other issues exist which could be used as a starting point for boosting cooperation. He said the EU could play a more active and responsible role by abandoning its one-way attitudes. The ambassador said one major element paving the way for further cooperation between Iran and the EU is Tehran’s presidency over the NAM which includes 120 countries and comprises for 55 percent of world population. He said iran in the capacity of the NAM chief could have effective interaction with the European Union./end