Tehran, March 02: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has met with Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey and Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic in Geneva.
In a meeting with the Swiss president on Tuesday, Salehi said there is much common ground for cooperation between Iran and Switzerland, IRNA reported.
Salehi and Calmy-Rey discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties in various areas as well as the latest international developments.
Commenting on the Iranian foreign minister’s speech at the UN Disarmament Conference, the Swiss president said that nuclear disarmament is a priority in Switzerland’s foreign policy and this “global crisis” requires international cooperation.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Iranian foreign minister urged participants at the UN Conference on Disarmament to draft a convention imposing a total ban on the production, possession, and use of nuclear weapons.
“The time is now ripe to completely ban nuclear weapons, just like biological and chemical weapons (were banned),” he said at the UN Disarmament Conference in Geneva.
Salehi also met with the Serbian foreign minister on the sidelines of the 16th session of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Disarmament Conference.
Iran and Serbia can be complementary to each other and help meet each other’s needs in the areas of energy, as well as technology and industry, Salehi said.
Jeremic said Serbia is interested in expanding ties with Iran and called Iran a “reliable partner.”
The two foreign ministers also emphasized the importance of parliamentary and cultural relations and discussed the latest international developments, such as the revolutions in North African countries and anti-government protest movements in other Arab states.
——–Agencies