Iranian President to Visit Armenia in Weeks

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Armenia later in December. Director-General of the Iranian Presidential Office for International Affairs Mohammad Reza Forqani told FNA that President Ahmadinejad would pay a visit to Armenia later this month. Forqani also mentioned that Ahmadinejad's visit which would take place at the invitation of his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian will be aimed at a discussion of bilateral ties and regional issues. Last month, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told the media that the Iranian President would visit Yerevan by the end of this year. According to him, preparation for Ahmadinejad's visit to Armenia was among the issues discussed during the meeting of Armenian and Iranian Foreign Ministers. President Ahmadinejad was due to visit Armenia at the invitation of President Sargsian on June 4, but the trip was called off. The Iranian president was last in Armenia in October 2007. During his two day visit to the Central Asian state, Ahmadinejad met with university students and professors and Iranian expatriates in Armenia, and signed four agreements and a joint statement. Also during the same visit, the University of Yerevan granted an honorary PhD degree to the Iranian president. Sargsian was in Tehran in March to attend the Iranian New Year festivities.