High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said on Wednesday that the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) is ready for operation.

I can confirm to you that we will convene the joint commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA this Friday.

"We are doing all we can, not as of today but since the very beginning of the signature of the agreement, the entry into force of the agreement," Mogherini said in a meeting with Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

She added: "We have done, as the European Union, together with our Member States, with China, Russia and the rest of the international community, we have done all we could and we continue to do all we can to maintain the implementation of the agreement intact as it has been the case, until today."

"We will continue to do so in these days, in probably the most difficult conditions you could imagine," she reiterated.

INSTEX was adopted by foreign ministers of the European trio on the sidelines of a European Union summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest on January 1.

INSTEX has been registered at the address of France's Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris. German banker Per Fischer has been appointed for six months long to run it.

"You will probably hear more from us in the coming days but, as you know, we have been working a lot with our Member States to put in place these mechanisms that allow legitimate trade with Iran to continue."

"I believe that this is now ready to be operational and I hope that this is something that can help keep Iran compliant with the agreement, as it has been so far and as we all want to see this continue to be the case," Mogherini noted.

Earlier, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement on Monday that the visit to Iran of EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid is a token of the EU support for the JCPOA.