Last year saw Tehran hosting numerous foreign political delegations

Outlining the country's regional policies and following up trade and banking ties with the outside world with an aim of strengthening national economy were among the most important goals behind these meetings.

The last Iranian year was of special importance from political and economic points of view for the country. Re-election of Rouhani as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the second term and definition of the country's policies for the next four years added to the importance of the year.

Given the fact that 1396 had been named as the 'Year of Economy of Resistance, Production and Employment' by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, expansion of economic interactions with the outside world and attraction of foreign investments were declared as among the major goals of the government.

In the first few months of 1396 which coincided with the fasting month of Ramadan and start of presidential poll, Rouhani did not have any foreign trips on his agenda and spent most of his time in Tehran hosting foreign delegations.

In a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron in May last year, Rouhani urged strengthening and expansion of relationship between the two countries. He also reiterated Iran's commitment to all its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal with G5+1 formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Referring to Paris' influential role in the nuclear talks between Iran and G5+1, Rouhani expressed regret that some parties were not living up to their promises and urged France and the European Union to step up their efforts for implementation of the deal.

In the same month, President Rouhani also talked with the Emir of Qatar and the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan over phone.

In his telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rouhani outlined Tehran's principled policy of establishing very close relations with Moscow and commissioning its nuclear deals with Moscow.

In a message to the Heads of States of Muslim countries, President Rouhani congratulated them on the advent of the fasting month of Ramadan on May 27, 2017 and warned of a surge in Islamophobia and foreign plots to create crises for Muslim nations.

In another telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Rouhani said Iran and Syrian were on a single front in the fight against terrorism.

One of President Rouhani's most important meetings with foreign dignitaries was his July meeting with Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of French oil company Total, as the first foreign firm to invest five billion dollars in the country's gas industry in the post-JCPOA era.

During the meeting, Rouhani said the contract for development of Phase 11 of South Pars gas field was not only an economic pact but rather managerial, technological and scientific cooperation. Pouyanne for his part said they had chosen long term cooperation with Iran.

After winning presidential election for the second term, Rouhani was sworn in as the President of the Islamic Republic in July. A large number of foreign dignitaries and high ranking officials participated in the swearing-in ceremony with whom the Iranian president met separately.

The participants included the presidents of Afghanistan, Iraq, Armenia and Zimbabwe, the prime minister of Swaziland, the parliament speakers of South Korea, Spain, Serbia, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, the foreign minister of Kazakhstan, the EU foreign policy chief and the special envoy of the Chinese president.

In August 2017, besides talking with the Emir of Qatar and the Turkish president over phone, President Rouhani received the parliament speaker of South Africa in Tehran.

Meanwhile, in a congratulatory message to the Heads f States of Islamic Countries on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on September 1, 2017, the Iranian president cited violence, war and terrorism as the heritage left by the world's bullying powers for the oppressed people in the troubled points of the world. He expressed hope that Muslim governments and thinkers would step up their efforts to return peace and calm to the Islamic countries.

In reaction to a referendum held for independence of Kurdish inhabited regions in northern Iraq, President Rouhani held consultations with the Turkish president and the Iraqi prime minister.

In his telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, President Rouhani said Iran was opposed to any move against the territorial integrity and national unity of Iraq and it will continue to stand by the Iraqi government and nation.

On October 4, President Rouhani formally greeted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his accompanying delegation in Tehran.

The result of the visit was signing of four memoranda of understanding and emphasis of the both countries on raising the volume of mutual trade exchanges to 30 billion dollars a year. |To achieve this goal and also enhance mutual cooperation, both sides urged the government-owned organs and private sectors to make use of all existing mechanisms.

In the same month, Rouhani called the French president to announce Tehran's readiness to promote and deepen ties with Paris in all areas of mutual interest at regional and international levels.

During his telephone conversation with his French counterpart, Rouhani made it clear that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was by means renegotiable.

Holding consultations with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on international issues including the fight against terrorism, preservation of Iraq's territorial integrity and national unity and Iran's readiness to contribute to that country's reconstruction was among other programs of Rouhani in October.

In a meeting in Tehran with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukia Amano on October 29, 2017, President Rouhani lauded the IAEA for its positive role in monitoring the implementation of the JCPOA and assessed Iran's cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog as perfect and noticeable.

The Iranian president also told Amano that Iran's will is based on having long-term cooperation with IAEA within the framework of international regulations.

Later in the month, President Rouhani talked with his French and Lebanese counterpart over phone on regional and international issues.

In a phone call with President Bashar al-Assad, President Rouhani discussed with him the country's political future, its reconstruction and coordination made in the Syrian peace talks held in the Russian resort of Sochi.

In November 20017, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Tehran and met with President Hassan Rouhani. In the meeting, the Iranian president, underlining the need to expand friendly and balanced relations between Tehran and London in line with their mutual interests, said however that bilateral relationship was not in proportionate to the two countries' capacities for cooperation in the post-JCPOA era. He called for more efforts to be made to reach a favorite point in mutual ties.

President Rouhani also criticized the transfer of US embassy from Tel Aviv to Holy Quds and underscored the need for Iran to make use of the JCPOA benefits. He urged a boost in banking ties and cooperation between Iran and the UK.

In the same month, Rouhani held talks with the Afghan president and head of the political bureau of Hamas on the need for a durable peace, security and stability in the region and Iran's continued defense of the Palestinian nation.

In continuation of his consultations on the JCPOA, President Rouhani again talked with French President Emmanuel Macron over phone. In his telephone conversation, Rouhani while outlining the Islamic Republic's principled policy of strengthening peace and stability in the region said 'We will remain committed to the JCPOA as long as we feel we can enjoy its benefits.'

In his address to the 13th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Rouhani said the Islamic Republic while respecting the territorial integrity and political sovereignty of all countries believes that solidarity and cooperation among all Muslim states is the only way to uproot the problems of the Islamic Ummah.

He went on to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran defines its relations with Muslim states on the basis of Islamic brotherhood and amity and views none of those countries as its rival. 'We believe that we can have interaction and cooperation on the basis of mutual respect even with those countries with which we have difference of opinion,' the president said.

Later in the month, President Rouhani separately received the parliament speakers of Iraq, Qatar, Senegal, Algeria, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Cuba, Ghana, Chile, Cyprus and Poland.

In a January's meeting with Tehran-based ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions and directors of Tehran offices of international organizations, President Rouhani announced Iran's readiness for attraction of foreign investments in the fields of oil, gas, petrochemical industry and tourism.

In his address, the Iranian president called for fair relations with the outside world and for cooperation with all countries of the region to promote regional peace and security. He said all problems facing the region can be solved only through political channel.

On the eve of the Syrian peace talks in Sochi, President Rouhani in a telephone conversation with President Erdogan of Turkey, said the peace talks could lead to the stability in Syria and therefore should be continued.

In March 2018, the Dutch and French foreign ministers travelled to Iran and met with President Rouhani.

In his meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Rouhani referred to Tehran-Paris friendly and historical relations and cooperation in various trade, economic, industrial, agricultural, cultural and transport fields. He said the Islamic Republic sees no limits on expansion and strengthening of relations and cooperation with France.

The Iranian president also reminded that the JCPOA was a big test for all negotiating parties and said the preservation of the deal would prove to the world that diplomacy was the best way to solve problems while its failure would mean political negotiation was just waste of time.

On the last days of the past Iranian year, President Rouhani met with the economy minister of Azerbaijan Republic and the foreign minister of Oman.
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