Iran-EU economic ties to experience major change

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the economic relations between Iran and the EU will soon experience a major change as the two sides resume and broaden their banking relations. Addressing a meeting with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics in Tehran on Sunday, the President said Iran and the European bloc have always enjoyed good relations, and mentioned that as the first step in the nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers is taken "and along with the development of the banking and economic ties, we are witnessing change in the relations with the EU". President Rouhani also stressed Iran's good geographical position, capacities and progress in road and railway transportation, and said expanding cooperation in these field would be a proper ground for cooperation to link the Central Asian region to Europe. Noting that Iran will continue negotiations until reaching a final and comprehensive agreement, he said, "Iran is determined to complete the negotiations with results desirable to the both sides and we are sure that the same is true with the other side as well." Rinkevics, for his part, referred to his country's rotating presidency over the EU next year, and expressed the hope that the bilateral relations between Iran and the EU would further expand. Rinkevics is the first senior Latvian official to visit Iran since independence of that country in early 1990s. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are the Baltic group of states. Latvia is also a member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It joined euro countries since the beginning of 2014. Latvia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2015.