EU, Iran resume trade talks

The European Union and Iran resumed their trade talks here on Wednesday after 18 months of suspension because of concerns about Tehran's nuclear plans, the European Commission said.

The 12-member Iranian delegation was headed by a senior ForeignMinistry official.

The European Union is offering Iran a non-preferential trade pact, backed up by promises of economic and financial cooperation and help in modernizing the country's overall commercial sector.

"Iran can look forward to a richer relationship with the European Union, as long as the international community can be confident that Iran's nuclear program is not being developed for military purposes," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

Before the reopening of the talks, which were launched in December 2002 and suspended in mid-2003," EU external relations chief Benita Ferrero-Waldner said "the resumption ... is a clear signal of our wish to work with Iran."

The International Atomic Energy Agency had confirmed Iran's suspension of its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, making the resumption possible.

A trade agreement with the European Union will boost Iran's drive for World Trade Organization membership.

But Iranian officials warned that if an agreement were not reached by June, Iran might pull away from its agreements to suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.

A political dialogue focusing on human rights, the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, efforts to fight terrorism and Middle East peace will also be conducted in parallel with negotiations on the trade pact.

Source: Xinhua