EHRAN (Dispatches) - Senior Iranian and European Union officials in a meeting in Brussels on Sunday underlined the need for expanding bilateral relations between Iran and the EU.
During the meeting in the Belgian capital, Head of Iran's Customs Administration Massoud Karbasian and EU's Director General for Taxation and Customs Union Stephen Quest explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation, specially in the field of customs.
The meeting followed previous talks on exchange of an agreement on mutual administrative cooperation in customs matters between Iran and the European Union in view of deployment of a delegation from the European Union to Iran last year. Both sides stated that determination existed to bolster customs relations and that the atmosphere governing these partnerships was very positive.
The main issues of talks included examination of methods for electronic exchange of information, issue of allowed economic activities, educational and research cooperation, joint cooperation to combat drug trafficking and fight against customs offenses. The parties emphasized the need to pursue legal procedures and obtain necessary permits for signing and exchanging customs agreements as soon as possible.
Karbasian’s meetings with chief customs officers of the European Union were held in Belgium and the session was attended by directors of various sectors of the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union.