By Xinhua,
Tehran : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday left Tehran for Turkey on an official visit, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The two-day visit, which comes at an official invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, is his first since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.
During his stay in Turkey, the Iranian president would hold talks with Gul and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss major bilateral, regional and international developments as well as issues related to the world of Islam, IRNA reported.
Ahmadinejad is also expected to meet a group of Turkish elites, writers, media staff and businessmen as well as a number of Iranians living in Turkey.
Turkey’s Presidential Press Center said on Wednesday that Ahmadinejad will be hosted in the largest Turkish city of Istanbul.
Among Ahmadinejad’s accompanying delegation are Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Energy Parviz Fattah, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari and Head of Organization of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei.