ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali will leave for Tehran on Oct 21 and hold official talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami the same day, says an official announcement here on Saturday.

Giving details of Mr Jamali’s activities in Iran, it says the prime minister is scheduled to meet several important Iranian personalities during his three-day stay in the neighbouring country.

The prime minister will also visit the historic city of Mashhad at the end of his first visit to Iran after assuming the office.

The visit is being undertaken to augment the multi-faceted relations between the two countries, particularly in the economic sphere, as well as to promote greater identity of views on international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Commerce, petroleum and information ministers will accompany the prime ministers, as also some senior officials, during the tour.

The first Vice-President of Iran Mohammad Reza Aref will host a welcome ceremony for the prime minister after which Mr Jamali will hold official talks with Iranian president Seyed Mohammad Khatami. Later in the evening, Mr Jamali will hold official talks with the first vice-president of Iran.

On Oct 22, the prime minister will lay a wreath at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeni. He will also call on the supreme leader of Iran Syed Ali Khamenei the same day. The prime minister is also scheduled to meet former Iranian president and chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashmi Rafsanjani. Later, he will give interviews to leading Iranian newspapers.

The prime minister will meet the members of the Pakistani community living in Tehran before leaving for Mashhad on Oct 23. The first vice-president of Iran will host a farewell reception for Mr Jamali on Oct 23 before his departure for Mashhad, where he will visit the shrine of Imam Reza. After an overnight stay, the prime minister will fly back to Pakistan on Oct 24.

The visit is taking place at the invitation extended by the Iranian president as part of ongoing high-level consultation process between the two countries. President Khatami paid an official visit to Pakistan in December 2002.

To reinforce economic interaction, Pakistan and Iran have concluded a number of bilateral agreements. The Joint Economic Commission at the ministerial level and a number of other mechanisms are already in place for this purpose.