Iran, EU to hold trade talks next week

NetIndia:

Iran and the European Union (EU) will hold negotiations on economic cooperation in Brussels next week despite a deadlock on their nuclear talks, Xinhua reported. READ MORE

The official IRNA news agency quoted a European official as saying that negotiators will kick off discussions on the bilateral Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in the Belgian capital Tuesday and Wednesday.

Issues pertaining to human rights, regional security, anti-terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will also be taken up during the talks.

Iran and the EU started the TCA negotiations in Brussels in December 2002, with a view to putting bilateral cooperation into a contractual framework.

The TCA negotiations, put on hold in June 2003 due to concerns over Iran's nuclear programme, were resumed last December following Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment-related activities.

However, the nuclear talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany stalled after Iran rejected permanently halting its uranium enrichment. The EU has promised economic and technological incentives to Iran if it stopped its nuclear programme.

The US accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly and has threatened to refer Tehran's case to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.