[caption id="attachment_132675" align="alignright" width="228"] Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni[/caption]

Rome, Feb 27, IRNA – Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will arrive in Tehran on Friday evening on his first visit of Iran at the top of a high ranking delegation.

Gentiloni's two-day visit is on an official invitation by his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and he will during these two days consult with various Iranian high ranking officials on issues of mutual interst.


Strengthening of bilateral cooperation and consultations on regional and international developments will be the main axes for the Italian top diplomat and the Iranian officials.

Foreign Minister Gentiloni has always announced and emphasized Rome's readiness for expansion of ties and cooperation with Tehran.

Zarif's official invitation of his Italian counterpart was made in phone talk with him last month.

Gentiloni had earlier opined that Iran is a key role player in resolving the regional crises and in a meeting with Vice President and Head of Department of Environment (DOE) Ma'sumeh Ebtekar in Rome emphasized that Iran's status is not obscure for anyone, as the country is a major regional country in crisis resolving.

Italy was the first EU country that after President Rouhani's victory in presidential elections sent a deputy foreign minister on a mission to Tehran followed by the visit by the Italian foreign minister at the time Emma Bonion's visit.

The Italian foreign minister had in mid-December emphasized the great significance of the Iran-western Sextet nuclear negotiations and expressed optimism that in the year 2015 better results of them will be achieved.

'The good point is that in November, 2014, the period of the negotiations was extended and there are high chances that in June, 2015 we will come up with more promising results compared with the past,' he had said.

By IRNA