TEHRAN -- Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here Saturday welcomed the latest developments in Tehran-Oslo relations as being in the interest of the two nations and said immense potentials and grounds exist for joint cooperation between Iran and Norway. In a meeting with the visiting Deputy Norwegian Foreign Minister Wegger Strommen, he pointed to the common grounds for cooperation between the two countries in the economic, industrial and agriculture fields as well as the exchange of non-oil goods.

He also announced Iran's readiness to cooperate with Norway in the political and cultural spheres together with international cooperation on disarmament, ecology and combatting drug trafficking. The Norwegian official referred to the few years disruption in Tehran-Oslo ties and Norway's eagerness to expand bilateral ties while stressing on opening a new era in these ties. He said that there are extensive fields for developing these relations.

Giving a briefing on his talks with ranking Iranian officials on bilateral ties as well as the exchange of views on important regional and international issues, strommen described these talks as being extremely constructive in the way of developing ties between the two countries. Turning to the international oil market, he expressed Oslo interest in forging closer cooperation with Tehran in the oil and gas sector.

He also praised Iran progress in arts and cinema and said plenty of grounds exist for cooperation in the cultural areas. At the meeting the two sides also reaffirmed that the idea of a dialogue between civilizations can serve as an important basis for closer cooperation among nations. The Norwegian deputy foreign minister arrived in Tehran Friday on a four-day official visit.

Meanwhile, Wegger Strommen and Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ataollah Mohajerani in a meeting here Saturday underlined Tehran-Oslo cooperation in the fields of culture, arts, tourism and cinematograph. Strommen lauded Iran's initiative in areas of dialogue between the civilizations and expressed regret over a pause in the bilateral relations of the two countries over the past years. The Norwegian deputy foreign minister then stated that the people in his country and North Europe were interested in Iranian culture and arts, and they were ready to welcome the Iranian artists and painters in their country for setting up art, painting and handicraft exhibitions.

Mohajerani on his part said that famous historical civilization of Iran was captivating for all nations around the world. The Iranian Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister then stated that Iran was ready to prove its cultural presence in North Europe besides promoting its cultural, arts and tourism cooperation with Norway. Also, the visiting Norwegian deputy foreign minister Saturday met with head of the Environmental Protection Organization (EPO), Ms. Masoumeh Ebtekar. Stressing the need for cooperation between the two countries as the two oil exporting countries which are faced with pollution resulting from oil leakage, the two officials reviewed further expansion of Tehran-Oslo relations in the area of environment.

He is the first Norwegian political official to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past decade.