Finland president to visit Iran for talks on boosting ties: report

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will soon visit Tehran for talks on boosting ties between both countries, reported the daily Tehran Times on Monday.

A delegation including several Finnish trade and economic companies will accompany Niinistö during his visit, Finnish Ambassador to Tehran Harri Kämäräinen was quoted as saying by the daily.

"We are preparing for the historic visit as this is the first visit by a Finnish head of state to the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Kämäräinen.

"The visit marks a new beginning in relations between Finland and Iran on the highest political level and we are therefore very much forward-looking to the discussions in Tehran," said the Finnish diplomat.

Niinistö will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Kai Mykkänen, a prominent Finnish business delegation and leading international Finnish companies, he said.

Among the delegation visiting Iran are entrepreneurs involved in environmental and water resources management, he said.

In February, visiting Finnish Minister for Environment and Agriculture, Kimmo Tiilikainen, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Masoumeh Ebtekar, Iran's Vice President and head of the Environmental Protection Organization.

Niinistö will meet with senior Iranian officials to discuss issues of mutual interest, bilateral relations, boosting trade and economic relations as well as regional issues, Kämäräinen said without specifying the date of Niinistö's visit. Endit