ROME -  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has chosen Rome for the first stop of his upcoming visit to Europe following the signing of the nuclear agreement, because Italy is among the country's "most important partners" in Europe.

    Rouhani has said that he wishes to start afresh, which he believes will "benefit the entire European Union".

    Rebuilding economic and commercial relations will be the main focus of Rouhani's visit with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi over the weekend, when he will also meet with around 300 Italian businesses that have expressed interested in starting or returning to business with the country. Iran is set to become a hub for Asia and the Middle East "with over 400 million potential consumers that needs extensive industrial and infrastructural modernisation," according to the Italy-Iran Chamber of Commerce.

  In addition to Renzi, Rouhani will also meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini and Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso to discuss the main topics of international concern, predominantly Syria. Whilst Rouhani's priority is to defeat ISIS and terrorism to bring stability back to the country, it will be the people of Syria, who decide the fate of President Bashar al Assad with "free elections", he said. He is also scheduled to meet Pope Francis.

    Iranian dissidents and human rights groups are expected to protest during the president’s visit to Rome. Opposition groups have launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #DiteloaRouhani (tell it to Rouhani), calling on Mattarella and Renzi to confront Rouhani about capital punishment, with 2