Iran president urges closer economic ties with South Korea

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for closer economic ties with South Korea here on Monday, semi-official Fars news agency reported. "The South Korean private sector and companies should come closer to Iran's private sector and expand the scope of their cooperation," Rouhani said in a meeting with the visiting South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee. There is no obstacle to impede the age-old economic, scientific, cultural and trade relations between Iran and South Korea and all conditions are ready for investment and operation of South Korean firms in Iran's oil, gas and energy sectors, Rouhani said. He expressed hope that South Korean companies would compete with the firms of other countries to reach Iranian market in the wake of new climate after a recent nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and the world powers. For his part, the South Korean speaker said "We intend to quickly expand Iranian-South Korean economic relations in view of the recent Geneva (nuclear) agreement." The high-ranking parliamentary delegation headed by Kang arrived in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Sunday for a three- day visit.