India-Iran Joint Commission begins tomorrow

India and Iran will discuss a range of bilateral issues which are of direct benefit to their people during the Joint Commission meeting in New Delhi on July 8, with a focus on instilling fresh momentum in the ties, particularly in strategic areas including counter-terrorism.

The 16th Session of the Joint Commission between the two countries will be held in New Delhi on July 8-9 and the Commission will be co-chaired on the Iranian side by Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance and on the Indian side by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, an official release said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The last Joint Commission meeting was held in Tehran in 2008.

"India and Iran have been holding discussions at regular intervals on issues relating to economic cooperation under the aegis of the Joint Commission mechanism, which was established in July 1983," the release said.

Earlier in the week, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had broadly outlined the agenda of the meeting, identifying joint cooperation projects such as Chabahar Port, energy cooperation, economic ties and counter-terrorism as some of the strategic areas to be taken up for discussions.

She had also reiterated the need for structured, systematic and regular consultations with Iran on the Afghanistan situation.