The top Cypriot diplomat said the country's minister of commerce, industry and tourism is scheduled to visit Iran soon to explore ways of promoting Tehran-Nicosia economic relations.
In a ceremony marking the 36th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Nicosia, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said a business delegation headed by the Cypriot minister of commerce, industry and tourism is planned to make a visit to Iran in the coming days in an effort to pave the way for expansion economic relations with Tehran, Fars news agency reported on Saturday.
The ceremony was attended by some Cypriot high-ranking officials, religious figures, leaders of political parties and foreign ambassadors to Cyprus.
Expressing congratulations on the occasion, he described Iran's role in the region as critical and expressed his country's support for the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) over Tehran's nuclear program.
Referring to his visit to Tehran in January and the trip of the Iranian justice minister to Nicosia last November, the Cypriot official said exchanges of visits by the two countries' top-level delegations over the past few months indicate that the two sides are resolved to boost bilateral relations.
In the ceremony, Ambassador to Nicosia Reza Zabib, for his part, touched on the unique position of Iran in the region and highlighted the scientific and technological achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Referring to the decisive role of Iran in the campaign against the wave of terrorism and violence in the region, he reiterated, "The Iranian foreign minister in his latest letter to the UN secretary general warned that Islamophobia is a new manifestation of violence and stressed the necessity to take on the challenge."
