Prime Minister Sobotka holds talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran

On Friday 11 November 2016 Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka met at Straka Academy with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Together they held talks on the deepening of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. Another item of discussion was the development of relationships in other areas of mutual interest and solutions to the current situation in the Near East.

The Czech Republic in general terms is fully aware of the geographic-political and economic importance of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region on the borderline of the Near East and Central Asia and in the long term has an interest in the development of two-way economic relationships. Subsequent to the signing of the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, the consequent reaching of the so-called Implementation Day meant abolition of the majority of sanctions and a significant strengthening of relations with the international community, including the Czech Republic.

“In the Czech Republic we observe with great interest the efforts of the Iranian leadership toward the transformation and modernisation of national economy and we are ready to share our  own transitional experience as gained on the basis of the political changes that have taken place in the Czech Republic in 1989. In our mutual cooperation we also perceive a far greater potential for example in the area of tourism. Tourist exchanges between the two countries can contribute to better mutual understanding and thus increase resilience to the threat of misinformation,” said Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

This is the first visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Czech Republic in 12 years. In addition to the negotiations with the Prime Minister today the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr. Lubomír Zaorálek, and President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, Jan Hamáček.

In September 2015 firstly the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek paid a visit to Teheran; then this year, in January, it was the turn of Minister for Trade and Industry, Jan Mládek; during the latter engagement an agreement was signed on economic cooperation between the Czech Republic and Iran.