South Korea, Mexico planning to send high-ranking delegations to Iran this month

Two High-ranking parliamentary delegations from South Korea and Mexico plan to visit the Iranian capital later this month to explore new avenues for expansion of ties with Tehran, a parliamentary source announced on Saturday. Advisor to the Iranian parliament speaker for international affairs Hossein Sheikholeslam said that Chairman of the Mexican Parliament's Foreign Policy Commission Eloy Cantu Segovia, heading a delegation, is slated to arrive in Iran on January 16 for a five-day-long visit. The senior Mexican lawmaker will have separate meetings with senior Iranian political and parliamentary officials, including his Iranian counterpart Alaeddin Boroujerdi to discuss boosting the bilateral ties between the two nations. In September, in his congratulatory message to the Mexican nation and government on the anniversary of the country's Independence Day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani underlined the importance of enhancing relations with Mexico in the Iranian new administration's foreign policy.     Sheikholeslam further added that South Korean Parliament Speaker Kang Chang-hee also plans to visit Tehran on January 26 at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani. "During his a 3-day trip, the top South Korean lawmaker and his accompanying delegation will hold various meetings with Larijani and other senior Iranian political and parliamentary officials," Sheikholeslam added. In November, in a meeting between the Iranian Parliament's First Vice-Speaker Seyed Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi Fard and Head of the Assembly of Representatives from the Asian Parliaments for environment and development Liju Yang in Tehran, the pair expressed the hope that mutual cooperation between Tehran and Seoul would widen in all sector, and called for increase efforts to this end.