Shariatmadari made the comment after his meeting with the Iraqi Finance and Labor minister and before departing Baghdad for Karbala in an interview with the IRNA correspondent in Iraq.

He said that signing the economic cooperation document was proposed in my meeting with the Iraqi finance minister and welcomed by him and we hope we will also reach mutual agreement on customs investments, boarder markets, and issues like that during this trip.

He said that the finalizing of the economic cooperation document depends of the Iraqi finance minister’s visit of Iran, adding, “The preparations for signing the five-year cooperation document are made and it is now ready for surveys, so that it will be signed and finalized before the end of the 12th government’s tenure.

Shariatmadari announced that the IRI Economy Minister Farhad Dezhpasand has invited his Iraqi counterpart to visit Tehran for further consultations and bilateral talks, adding: This document on economic cooperation is besides the Joint Economic Commission that was earlier designed.

Very broad economic issues, especially infrastructure projects and economic transactions are among the subtitles and the economic cooperation document that both sides are very optimistic about its benefits, he added.

The Iranian labor minister meanwhile focusing on the joint free trade zones said that consultations on the issue have been done and the foundation stone for that is preferential tariffs, based on which the Joint Iran-Iraq Shopping Mall will be established that will function as a complimentary economic apparatus with the two countries share free trade zones, and in turn, they will both establish broader markets in other neighboring counties.

Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari said Sat. that Iran has recently registered an annual production of 90 million tons of iron ore and 220,000 tons of copper cathode.

“This year we will hit a record high with delivering on 10 tons of gold production,” he asserted.

Shariatmadari made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual general assembly of IMIDRO (Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization) on Saturday.

He added that in addition to the 400 previously-discovered promising zones of mining, a new set of 200 promising zones has been reported and the configurations of these promising zones will be handed to investors to start explorations.

“At a National Security Council meeting a few days ago, a number of issues were brought up, including big American companies’ concerns over US way of dealing with the JCPOA. Meanwhile, they [Europeans] announced that they would remain alongside Iran. In addition, the European Union package to support the JCPOA is going to take effect, and the president will soon travel to Austria and Switzerland to discuss this package,” Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari said in a press conference held on the sidelines of the ceremony to commemorate ‘Industry, Mine and Trade Day’ in his Ministry building this morning.

With regard to the French car manufacturers Peugeot and Renault’s investment in Iran, the Iranian minister said “they have invested $ 170 million in Iran, so they are willing to continue to work. Furthermore, their trade relations with the US is limited. But, under the threat of US secondary sanctions, they may end their cooperation with Iran.”

Accepting invitations extended by Swiss and Austrian presidents, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will travel to  two European countries of Switzerland and Austria in early July.

Rouhani will have a two-day visit to Swiss capital city of Berne, followed by a visit to Vienna.

Following the United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the European countries vowed that they will try to keep the nuclear deal knows as the JCPOA alive by promising to offer a package to secure Iran’s interests despite the US pressures.

At the same time, the EU foreign policy chief said in Brussels yesterday that the promised EU package will be provided to Iran within two days, the Iranian state TV ‘IRINN’ reported on Saturday.