Serbia intensifies relations with Iran, the country sanctioned by the USA

Serbia has intensified its relations with Iran, the country sanctioned by the United States of America.

After Serbia and Iran met last year to strengthen military ties, the heads of state of these countries met again this year to decide on cooperation in many areas.

Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Vladimir Orlic traveled to Tehran to meet with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Kalibaf to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

They discussed parliamentary relations, economic cooperation and issues of mutual interest, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported. They agreed to prepare the ground for enhanced cooperation.

Qalibaf cited the oil, petrochemical and tourism sectors as areas for greater cooperation.

“In order to achieve a tripling of the value of bilateral trade by 2027, the parliamentary friendship groups of the two countries should strengthen their relations and contribute to the further activation of the Iranian and Serbian private sectors,” the Iranian minister said.

The Iranian minister said Serbia is ready to improve relations with Iran in the economic, industrial and agricultural sectors and believes there are many opportunities.

Orlic said bilateral trade value would reach 150 million euros next year through the implementation of a number of joint projects.

In addition to Orlic, Serbia’s Minister of Family Welfare also traveled to Tehran, writing yesterday that she had a meeting with Iran’s Minister of Education.

The increased activity between Serbia and Iran comes after Vucic expressed a desire to buy weapons from Iran. He had previously spoken sharply against the U.S. and EU, saying Serbia would continue to arm itself with weapons from Russia, China and other countries.

“If anyone thinks we should ask the U.S. or the EU to decide about our weapons, let’s abolish our state,” Vučić had said earlier.

In November 2018, the United States officially reinstated all sanctions on Iran that had been lifted before the United States withdrew from the JCPOA.

Iran has become an international concern for human rights, especially for women./The Geopost/