Irish MPs in Iran for bilateral talks

A delegation from the Republic of Ireland's parliament arrived in Tehran on Friday morning to discuss ways to expand bilateral ties. The trip comes at the invitation of Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi, and it seeks to further boost parliamentary and political relations between the two countries. Earlier this week, Top Advisor to the Iranian Parliament Speaker Hossein Sheikholeslam said that the delegation, led by Chairman of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament) Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade Pat Breen, is expected to meet Boroujerdi as well as a number of Iranian political and parliamentary figures. During the four-day official visit to Iran, the Irish delegation will also meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Ireland is an island to the north-west of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on the earth. To its East is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of Britain which covers the remainder and is located in the Northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million.