Swiss president arrives in Iran to hold talks, sign deals

Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann has arrived in Tehran to hold talks with senior Iranian officials and sign agreements in different fields.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Schneider-Ammann was welcomed by Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh at Tehran Mehrabad Airport upon his arrival on Friday.

The Swiss president, who is in Tehran at the invitation of President Hassan Rouhani, is scheduled to discuss ways to improve mutual, regional and international relations.

Strengthening joint cooperation in political, economic, judicial and cultural fields is also among other objectives of the visit.

Tehran and Berne will sign agreements in the fields of economy, banking cooperation, politics and culture.

Schneider-Ammann’s trip comes in a series of visits by world leaders to Tehran after the implementation of a nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in July 2015.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the JCPOA on January 16.

After the JCPOA went into effect, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran, in return, has put some limitations on its nuclear activities.

The nuclear agreement was signed on July 14, 2015 following two and a half years of intensive talks.