1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, who is attending the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, met with his Iranian counterpart Zarif on September 30, and discussed a range of issues, including the Iran nuclear agreement and prospects for lifting sanctions against Iran; high-level exchanges and economic cooperation; increasing healthcare and cultural cooperation; and cooperation on the global stage.

2. Minister Yun appreciated the historic Iran nuclear agreement, reached on July 14, and predicted that if sanctions are lifted following a smooth implementation of the agreement, cooperation between the two countries will further expand. Minister Zarif explained that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the nuclear agreement in a speedy manner, and expected the sanctions to be lifted as early as later this year.

o Minister Yun said that the Iran nuclear deal has implications for the North Korean nuclear issue in that difficult problems were solved through dialogue. Minister Yun hoped that the experience and wisdom, gained in the process of reaching the Iran nuclear agreement, can be used for stability in Northeast Asia.

3. Minister Yun explained that recently visits to Iran by high-level officials have been continuing, including by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Vice Minister and the Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister for Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. He also said that preparations are underway for facilitation of economic cooperation between the two countries. Mentioning that Korean companies have built a good image in Iran, Minister Zarif called for more Korean companies to invest in the Iranian market which has high growth potential.

o In addition, Minister Zarif invited Minister Yun to visit Iran. Minister Yun offered to continue consultations through diplomatic channels.

4. The two Ministers noted with appreciation that cooperation in the healthcare and medical sector is continuing smoothly, and agreed to explore measures to expand bilateral cooperation into other areas.

o Sharing the view that cultural cooperation, along with people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation, will contribute significantly to enhancing the ROK-Iran relations, the two Ministers agreed to further strengthen cultural cooperation.

5. This ROK-Iran Foreign Ministers’ meeting came after a meeting between the two Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September last year, and a meeting during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January this year. This latest meeting is expected to help open a new horizon of bilateral cooperation in a range of areas since the Iran nuclear deal was reached.


*unofficial translation