Abu Dhabi -- Iran's Minster of Agricultural Jihad Mahmoud Hojjati sent a written message Monday to his counterpart in United Arab Emirates, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Said Muhammad al-Raqabani to attend a FAO conference in Tehran in March. Iran's Ambassador to UAE Alireza Salari delivered Hojjati's message to al-Raqabani in a meeting with the UAE minister.

The two countries' officials discussed ways for expansion of cooperation between Iran and the UAE in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and cattle breeding activities.

Both sides, meanwhile, exchanged viewpoints regarding the general purposes of FAO's regional assembly, atop of which is promotion of regional cooperation in productive activities aimed at providing food for the world nations.

The UAE minister of agriculture and fisheries expressed hope that during the Tehran international assembly a new round of regional cooperation aimed at solving environmental and agricultural problems would be clicked.

The agenda of the FAO conference in Tehran includes issues such as promotion of regional agriculture, cooperation, providing food for deprived populations around the globe, launching an international campaign against draught, introducing most effective methods for taking full advantage of water resources, and promotion of free trade among the countries in the region.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO's 26th Regional Conference will be held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, from March 9 to 13, 2002.