TEHRAN Deputy Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Asanbek Osmonaliyev said on Monday that his country deems of great importance the expansion of bilateral relations with Iran.

The Kyrgyz official who arrived in Tehran on Monday at the invitation of Iran's Foreign Ministry is scheduled to hold talks with several Iranian high-ranking officials, and visit some industrial complexes in a bid to pave the ground for furthering Tehran-Bishkek cooperation.

Upon arriving in Tehran he said that his visit to Iran aimed to solicit consultations on the ways and means to boost ties with Iran, adding that the main topics of his talks with Iranian officials would be how to develop Tehran-Bishkek political cooperation, as well as issues of mutual Interest, IRNA reported.

Osmonaliyev voiced his country's discontent with the low volume of trade exchanges between the two countries which reached about $5 million in the first quarter of 2001, and said Kyrgyzstan was eager to further boost Iran-Kyrgyzstan cooperation.