Iran�s media reported on Friday that the country had signed a crucial deal with the major French pharmaceutical company Sanofi over the production of key drugs and the management of chronic diseases.

Iran�s official news agency IRNA said the deal had been signed between Iran�s Healthy Ministry and Sanofi, adding that this was among 20 agreements that Iran and France signed on Thursday in a ceremony overseen by the presidents of the two countries � Hassan Rouhani and Francois Hollande.

IRNA has quoted Sanofi board chairman Serge Weinberg as saying that the deal envisages cooperation with Iran in three separate areas. The first area is transferring the expertise over the production of drugs for chronic and non-contagious diseases to Sanofi�s local partners. The second area is to cooperate with Iran�s Health Ministry over preventing and controlling chronic and non-contagious diseases particularly diabetes. And the third, Weinberg said, is to look for the mechanisms to promote future cooperation over launching joint epidemiological researches.

Weinberg further emphasized that the deal takes into consideration the need for Iran to improve the management of chronic and non-contagious diseases including diabetes, cardiac failures, M.S. and rare diseases. This, he said, made Sanofi approach the Islamic Republic to extend a hand to the country�s academic circles in launching epidemiological researches and registering the findings.

Iran�s President Rouhani arrived in Paris from Rome on Wednesday on the second and last leg of his European tour. In both countries, he took a 100-strong delegation who signed deals over a range of sectors including aviation, oil, mining and the auto industry.

By Press TV