Iranian foreign minister arrives in Arbil

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in Arbil on Thursday on an official visit, during which he will meet with Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani,  according to the media secretary of Iraq’s Kurdistan president. “Mottaki arrived in Arbil accompanied by his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari and a high-profile cultural and economic Iranian delegation,” Faysal al-Dabbagh told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Kurdistan Prime Minister Negervan Barzani received him at the airport,” he added. “The delegation headed for the Salah el-Din resort to meet President of Iraq’s Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani and a number of Kurdish officials,” al-Dabagh noted. Mottaki’s visit to Kurdistan will be the first by a high-ranking Iranian official to Arbil. The top Iranian diplomat had arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday (Feb. 11) and held a meeting upon his arrival with Iraqi Trade Minister, Abdul Falah al-Sudani, on means to foster commercial relations between the two countries. SH (P)/SR 1