Iranian speaker to visit Serbia, Switzerland early October

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani is scheduled to visit Serbia and Switzerland early October, one of his aides announced on Thursday. Larijan's senior Advisor Hossein Sheikholeslam told FNA on Thursday that the Iranian parliament speaker will first travel to Serbia for two days and will then go to Switzerland on a three-day visit. "The three-day visit to Switzerland will be paid in the middle of (the Iranian month of) Mehr (early October) to participate in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)," Sheikholeslam said. The IPU, established in 1889, is the oldest multilateral political organization. It brings together 155 affiliated parliaments and eight regional assemblies as associate members. Before traveling to Switzerland, Larijani will take a trip to Serbia to hold meetings with the European country's high-ranking officials on various issues, including bilateral ties and regional developments. Iran and Serbia have in recent years made great efforts to further develop their bilateral relations and mutual cooperation in all fields. Early this Summer, Iranian and Serbian officials in a meeting in Belgrade explored avenues for bolstering and consolidating bilateral ties, specially in academic fields. During the meeting in the Serbian capital in July, Iranian Cultural Attaché to Serbia Mahmoud Shalouei and Vice-Chancellor of Belgrade University Dalibor Soldatic underlined the need for the further expansion of bilateral ties between the two countries’ universities. Soldatic pointed to Iran’s rich culture and civilization, expressing willingness to establish Persian language course at the University of Belgrade. He referred to expert meetings between the two countries' professors in Belgrade, calling for formation of expert committees for speedy implementation of already reached agreements. Shalouei, for his part, voiced Iran’s readiness to help establish Iran Bureau at the University of Belgrade, saying as soon as a suitable place is allocated, Iran will immediately help in this regard.