The joint virtual session between the Iranian Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) about the regional issues was held on Monday, April 19, 2021.  

The session was attended by Dr.Mohammad KazemSajjadpour, Deputy Minister of MOFA & President of IPIS; Mr.Majid Ghafelebashi, Research Deputy at the Center; Mohammadreza Hajikarim Jabar, Iranian Ambassador to Switzerland; Hossein Gharibi, Senior Expert at IPIS; Gholamreza Khoshroo, Former Iranian Representative at the UN; Mohammad Shariati Nia, Faculty Member at the Shahid Beheshti University; Hossein Malaek, Former Iranian Ambassador to China and Switzerland; on one side,

And

Mr.Markus Leitner, Swiss Ambassador to Iran; Christian Dussey, Director of GCSP; Marc Finaud , President of Arms Proliferation Program; Jean-Marc Rickey, President at global risks and resilience program; Abdulla Ibrahim, Top Advisor and Paul Vallet, Senior Researcher at the said center.    

The session was held in the form of two panels, “JCPOA; Iran-Europe Relations’ Landscape”, and “China’s Surge; Impacts on Regional Issues”, to answer the following questions, (1) What is the landscape of JCPOA, and how has it been impacted by recent developments? (2) What are the challenges ahead of Iran-Europe relations? (3) How does Europe view China’s role in the global developments? (4) How will China’s role in the Middle East political and economic developments be? 

Here are the most important issues touched upon at the session:

• Iran and Switzerland share common cultural and civilizational values which serve as a firm basis for continuous cooperation between the two countries. Holding the 100th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties of the two countries in Tehran last year was a vivid symbol for the existing relations between them.
• China’s approach toward the Middle East region is geo-economic and multilateralist, with emphasis on the role of the United Nations Security Council. Therefore, based on resolution 2231 of the security council, it preserved its economic ties with Iran during Trump’s Maximum Pressure period. The Iran and China 25 Year Cooperation Program is a win-win cooperation for the aim of maximizing mutual interests and creating a development platform.
• China’s approach is development and infrastructure in the Middle East, while the United States approach has destroyed the region. 20 years ago China joined in the WTO, which this strategic decision has strengthened China economically but the US started war with Iraq and Afghanistan which wreaked havoc on the region, as a result of which the US suffered serious damages.