H.E. Mr. Hossein Panahiazar:

I thank the Chairman and the distinguished members for their comments and questions. On the issue of beef, some exchanges have taken place and we are working on a certificate. It is only a technical matter. The main decision about lifting the ban was taken after the delegation which visited Ireland submitted its report. We are exchanging letters between the two sides. We just received a letter yesterday and we will convey it today to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We hope that this will be the end of the exchange of letters and that both sides will agree with the terms of the certificate that is going to be issued. I am optimistic that we are near or at the end of this process of issuing the certificate.