Tasnim� A ranking Finnish diplomat unveiled plans for the conclusion of an agreement with Iran on air transportation.

In a meeting with an Iranian deputy foreign minister in Helsinki, Secretary of State at Finland�s Ministry for Foreign Affairs Peter Stenlund said the air transportation agreement will be prepared and signed in the near future.

He also hailed the growing economic ties between Iran and Finland since the Finnish president�s last year visit to Tehran, pointing to a recent deal between the two countries on customs cooperation.

Expressing the Finish economic activists� enthusiasm for strong interaction with Iran, Stenlund said Helsinki supports the expansion of cooperation between Iran and the European Union.

For his part, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi highlighted the significance that Tehran attaches to closer �parliamentary and people-to-people� ties with Finland, which he said would in turn facilitate economic relations.

Elsewhere in the meeting, the two diplomats discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, as in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Takht Ravanchi is in Finland at the invitation of Stenlund for regular political negotiations.