Iran, ASEAN to sign cooperation treaty: Singapore
Tehran (KNA) - Iran will sign a cooperation treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a move which could lead to wider economic cooperation between the country and East Asia
Singapore's non-resident ambassador to Tehran was quoted by media as saying that the treaty would be signed at an upcoming gathering of ASEAN's foreign ministers.
Ong Keng Yong said Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif would sign the document at the event that would open in Singapore on July 30."The ASEAN countries welcome anyone who wants to sign onto the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation," Ong said.
The treaty would come only two months after US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of an international nuclear agreement with Iran and announced that he would re-impose sanctions that were largely lifted due to the same deal against the country.
Nevertheless, experts believe that Asian countries are likely to brush off US sanctions and maintain business ties with Iran despite Washington's pressure to halt trade with the country.
Barak Seener, a research fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post on Saturday that the European Union may toe the US line regarding anti-Iran sanctions, but Asian countries, or at least their influential companies, are likely to keep doing business with Tehran.
Source: PressTV