TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Masoud Soltanifar and the parliament speaker of Croatia on Wednesday held talks on ways to promote Tehran-Zagreb relations in various economic and cultural areas, tourism in particular.

In his meeting with Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko in Zagreb, Soltanifar referred to the economic and cultural capacities of Iran and Croatia, saying that further efforts should be made to utilize the capacities to promote the two countries' ties.

"It is now a good time to promote economic and tourism relations to a higher level," Soltanifar said.

Leko, for his part, hailed the Iranian official's trip to Croatia as a "positive sign" for the growing trend of mutual cooperation between the two countries.

He pointed to the reciprocal visits made by the Iranian and Croatian officials and expressed the hope that the trips would lead to closer relations between Tehran and Zagreb in economic areas.

Soltanifar arrived in the Eastern European country to attend the 100th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council.

The 100th session of the UNWTO Executive Council kicked off on Wednesday and will continue until May 30. It will be attended by representatives of tourism ministries from all around the world.

During his three-day visit, Soltanifar will confer with a number of other Croatian officials on expanding bilateral ties and mutual cooperation in the field of tourism.

The visit comes as the Croatian Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin made a trip to Tehran last month, during which he held several meetings with Iranian tourism officials and the executives of Tehran-based private airline Mahan Air about plans to launch direct flights between Iran and Croatia.

By Tasnim News Agency