13 October 2013
On 8 October 2013, a delegation composed of the professors and students of the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) participated in a roundtable with the experts of the Foreign Policy Research Department of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) on the stances of the new Iranian government towards international and regional issues.
First, a brief introduction of the Center for Strategic Research (SCR) and its status and mission was presented and then an overview of the main points of Dr Rohani's foreign policy and its characteristics was given. After that, the experts of the Foreign Policy Research Department presented their views on changes in the Iranian foreign policy. In regard to relations with neighbors including Iraq and Afghanistan, it was said that "there is no solution for regional problems without Iran's participation and the West should understand this issue". As for relations with the U.S. and the prospect of their normalization with the coming to power of the new government in Iran, the existing obstacles and challenges on this way were mentioned and it was emphasized that "there is only a limited time for seizing the created opportunity and taking serious steps for the settlement of the existing problems between the two countries. Regarding relations with the EU, it was mentioned that "since 2005, all common grounds for cooperation between the two sides have been overshadowed by Iran's nuclear program and because of imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran by the EU in following suit the U.S., bilateral relations have experienced a declining trend. Given the forthcoming negotiations with the West for solving the nuclear problem, it is expected that the EU plays a facilitating role in the process". With regard to relations with the East, mostly Russia and China, it was said that "following the deterioration of relations with the West and establishing closer relations with the East during Ahmadinejad's era, now this opportunity has been created that Iran for the first time in its history, forges a balanced relations between East and West". In relations to the new government's approach to the Middle East It was said that "the I.R.I is willing to witness peace and stability in the region, and for this reason, it supports moderation, struggling against terrorism, end of destructive foreign interventions and cooperation with regional actors based on mutual respect and interests.
Then, some questions were posed by the German delegation about Iran's nuclear dossier, the role of the Supreme Leader in foreign policy, and the views of the new Iranian government regarding the idea of "dialogue among civilizations" which were duly responded by the Iranian side. Also, the German side while recognizing the complicated nature of Iran-EU relations stated that "Europeans make foreign policy decisions based on their priorities shaped by thier national interests."
At the end of the session, Professor Hilper, the head of German delegation, thanked for the provided opportunity for exchanging views and hoped that scientific cooperation between the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and Center for Strategic Research would continue in the future.
