TEHRAN -- The Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jasem al-Kharafi arrived here on Saturday at the head of a parliamentary and political delegation and was welcomed at the Mehrabad International Airport by the Iranian Majlis Speaker Mahdi Karrubi, IRNA reported.

Talking to reporters before his departure for Tehran the Kuwaiti Parliament speaker said, "Expansion of cooperation among Muslim countries will prevent enemies from taking advantage of the hard situation now facing the Islamic umma." The Kuwaiti speaker said the aim of his trip to Iran was to visit a `friendly and brotherly' country to further consolidate existing mutual ties.

Lauding Iran's status in the region and the world as significant, he referred to the sensitive situation in Islamic states and noted that his visit to Iran will be to the benefit of the entire region as well as the world Muslims.

He voiced his country's readiness to cooperate with Iran to help restore and consolidate stability in the region and said he hoped to benefit from the experience of Islamic Majlis.

Appreciating Iran's stance on the occupation of Kuwait by the Iraqi regime, he said, "Iran enjoys valuable experience in dealing with prisoners of wars issue and we hope to benefit from this experience." He added that his visit to Tehran would provide an opportunity for him to talk about issues of mutual interest and those of the Islamic world.

Al-Kharafi said regular meetings between the officials of the two countries would play a decisive role in making their position on numerous world and regional issues transparent and would strengthen the Tehran-Kuwait City ties.

"We have to prevent those who intend to exploit the current situation of Islamic nations, in particular, the issue of Palestine in order to hurt their Islamic unity," the speaker added.

The two countries will expand mutual relations and cooperation to establish regional stability.

Pointing to Tehran-based Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union, he said Iran and Kuwait will confer on how to support and consolidate the union activities.

Meanwhile, Iranian Majlis Speaker Mahdi Karrubi said that the Muslims are strongly in need of unity and convergence and expressed hope that through unity and by adopting identical decision, relations among Islamic states will further deepen.

Welcoming the Kuwaiti Parliament speaker, Karrubi said Iran and Kuwait enjoy good relations in various international fora such as the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union and the World Inter-Parliamentary Union, adding that the visit by the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation to Iran can pave the way for expansion of all-out relations between the two countries.

Referring to historical and deep-rooted ties between Iran and Kuwait, Karrubi underlined the role of parliaments in broadening relations among countries. The parliaments of the two countries, he noted, play a crucial role in expansion of ties and there are various areas for mutual cooperation such as the economy.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Kuwait, he said, play a significant role in developments in regional and Islamic countries, particularly on the issue of Palestine, and expressed hope that bilateral relations would be further expanded.

He said he will exchange views with high-ranking Iranian officials on issues of mutual interest.

The Kuwaiti Parliament speaker is going to confer with Karrubi, President Mohammad Khatami, chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rowhani as well as Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.

The Kuwaiti speaker is to visit Isfahan on Wednesday and will leave Iran on the same day.