Iran opens embassy in Ljubljana, vows to develop ties with Slovenia

Hours after his arrival in Slovenia, Salehi inaugurated the Iranian embassy in Ljubljana and said that Iran is keen on enhanced trade and cultural ties with Slovenia, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran and Slovenia would cooperate in industrial, shipping, electronic, transport and refinery fields and Iran would be a major energy supplier to Slovenia, the Iranian foreign minister added.

Currently Iran-Slovenia trade stood at 100 million U.S. dollars which is lagging behind the capacity of the two countries, he told IRNA upon his arrival in Ljubljana.

Salehi said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is interested in enhancing trade and economic cooperation to satisfactory level in line with the capacity available for the two countries.

Also, Salehi told a joint press conference with his Slovenian counterpart, Samuel Zbogar, in Ljubljana that the relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Organization ( IAEA) are at the best possible level.

The Iranian foreign minister said that the IAEA inspectors are now in Iran to monitor the Iranian nuclear installations, according to IRNA.

He said that Iran, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is committed to all its NPT commitments.

Salehi said that Tehran will not relinquish its legitimate rights outlined in the NPT, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Iran's foreign minister will hold talks with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano in Vienna on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Slovenian foreign minister called for Iran-EU negotiations saying that, "we believe in negotiations between Iran and the European Union (EU), and we call for the revival of talks (between Tehran and the EU)," said Mehr.

Samuel Zbogar stated that Ljubljana is interested in enhancing its cooperation with Tehran.

On Monday, Iran and Slovenia signed agreements on cultural, scientific, educational, tourism, and sports cooperation, according to Mehr.

Heading a delegation, Salehi is scheduled to visit Vienna on an official invitation of his Austrian counterpart Michael Spindelegger on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Salehi told reporters that ups and downs in relations between Iran and European countries should not prevent discussions and expansion of ties.

"Iran is a strategic and very important country to the European Union," he was quoted as saying, adding that his country can be an important energy supplier to Europe.