Austrian foreign minister, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato are due separately to visit Iran this month for bilateral and regional talks, reported the Iranian News Agency (IRNA).
Ferrero-Waldner is to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday on a three-day working visit, an Austrian foreign ministry spokesman told the agency.
He will hold talks with President Mohammed Khatami and other senior officials. The talks will tackle strengthening trade and industry ties.
Austria's export to Iran reached 145 million Euros in the year 2000, while the European country imported goods worth 22 million Euros during the same period, said IRNA.
Iran, according to the agency, is the second trade partner of Austria, after Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Amato will arrive in Tehran on February 23rd on a three-day visit for bilateral and regional talks that will focus on politics, trade and industry, said the agency.
Amato is the second Italian prime minister to visit Iran in the past three years. In 1998, Romano Prodi, visited the Islamic republic.
Amato’s visit comes less than a month after Iran’s foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, held high-level talks in Rome – Albawaba.com
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