German FM to meet with Iran’s president

TEHRAN, Sep. 23 (MNA) – According to Germany’s deputy spokesperson, German FM will meet with Iran’s president on the sidelines of the UN General assembly. Sawsan Chebli, deputy spokesperson for German Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German FM, will meet with Iran’s president on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The 69th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 69) convened at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, 16 September 2014 and will last until 1 October. “Germany’s FM plans to have bilateral meetings with Iran’s president as well as the US secretary of state,” Sawsan Chebli said. Rouhani’s attendance at the UN General Assembly received considerable media attention while Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran FM, has been in New York since last Tuesday to hold a new round of nuclear talks. In the past few days, several bilateral talks have been held between Iran and the G 5+1 states. International analysts predict that with the arrival of the heads of countries in New York for attending the UN General Assembly, the nuclear negotiations will show substantial improvements. Regardless of possible agenda for the meeting which is expected to be on terrorism in the region and mutual relations, the fact that Steinmeier has taken the initiative to meet with President Rouhani can be seen as Germany's practical step toward improving ties with Iran. With Rounani in power since nearly a year ago and Geneva Joint Plan of Action, many European countries have taken the initiative to resume and improve their political and economic ties with Iran by deploying high-ranking political and economic delegations to Iran. However, Germany, as a European country with deep political and economic ties with Iran in the past, had fallen behind its other European rivals and has come under criticism from German businesspeople and entrepreneurs for neglecting Iran for potential political and economic cooperation. With the latest protests and criticism in regard to the German government’s fault in improving ties with Iran, head of Germany’s trade union in the Middle East has advised German authorities to stop procrastination and resume economic ties with Iran. Political experts believe that the meeting between Germany’s foreign minister and Iranian president in New York is a significant step toward improving the two countries’ political and economic ties.