Matthias Fekl, the French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade and Tourism Development, has said that his country supports Iran's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Fekl made the remark in an interview to Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Wednesday after returning from Iran.

�What we want is that Iran be open to long-term partnerships. They will receive our support if they plan to accede the WTO, to prepare files and to register this country in a multilateral context,� he said in remarks that were also reported by Iran�s state news agency IRNA.

�The idea is first to reconnect. It's been for 12 years that there have been no visits to the country on part of ministers with economic portfolio .. It now marks an economic step,� Fekl added.

The official � together with Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll � led a delegation of 130 French companies that visited Iran recently to lay the groundwork for the first business contracts between Tehran and Paris after the July nuclear breakthrough between Iran and the P5+1.

The delegation included most of France's CAC 40 companies, as well as small and medium enterprises from a variety of industries including agriculture, finance, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, construction and transport.

By Press TV