Zarif to visit Finland next week

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is scheduled to visit Finland and hold talks with his Finnish counterpart Timo Soini on May 31, according to the Finland government, AVA Diplomatic reports.

The discussions will focus on issues of mutual interest, the latest developments in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region, the relations between Iran and the EU, and other international issues.

Foreign Minister Zarif will also meet, among others, with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Speaker of Parliament Maria Lohela.

He will be accompanied by a large business delegation.

Zarif and the Finnish president met in January on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Davos, where they called for enhanced relations between the two countries and discussed the latest regional developments.

Also the largest ever Finnish economic delegation recently visited Iran.

Finland’s ambassador to Iran said that a railway is to be inaugurated between Rasht, northern Iran, and Azerbaijan Republic which will later join the Finnish capital, Helsinki.

He said that the railway link will provide the Iranian businessmen with a means to accelerate exports of their products to the Scandinavian countries.