BRUSSELS (IRNA) -- A four-member delegation from the Islamic Republic's Majlis (Parliament) arrived in Brussels Sunday night for discussions and meetings with their counterparts in the European Parliament as well as with officials in the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.

"Our visit is aimed at creating an atmosphere that will promote friendship and also clear some ambiguities which might exit between Europe and Iran," the head of the delegation and chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations in Majlis, Mahmud Mohammadi, told IRNA in an interview in Brussels.

He noted that for the first time since it was set up in 2004, the delegation to promote relations with Iran and the European Parliament is to hold an inter-parliamentary meeting with its Iranian counterparts following an invitation by the chair of the delegation, German MEP Angelika Beer.

"We hope that this first meeting will prepare the ground for strengthening parliamentary cooperation between Iran and the European Union and also bilateral ties with European countries," he said.

"We are going to discuss various issues of mutual interest," said Mohmmadi, a former spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry and an ex-ambassador to Tunisia.

The Iranian deputies are to meet leaders of several political groups in the EP as well as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Belgian MPs and then travel to Luxembourg for meetings with MPs there.

The delegation includes a woman MP, Ms Elham Aminzadeh, an MP who represents the Jewish community in Iran, Moris Motamed, and independent MP Ali Ahmadi.

According to an EP announcement, the MEPs and members of the Majlis will discuss trade relations, results of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, cooperation in international energy security, accession to the WTO, human rights issues, the situation in the Middle East and the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.