TEHRAN President Mohammad Khatami here on Saturday said that Iran's three-year (1997-2000) presidency of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) boosted its international prestige.

Speaking to the members of the secretariat for the affairs of Iran's presidency over OIC, Khatami said, "Despite the fact that some powers were biased towards Iran and were not willing to see Iran hold the OIC summit successfully in Tehran, we managed to do the task with complete success using able forces and appropriate management."

He said, "Holding the OIC summit conference in Tehran successfully demonstrated the potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran for carrying out titanic tasks and presence in international arena as a strong Islamic country with high potentials."

President Khatami pointed to Iran's effective role during its presidency in resolving the problems facing the Islamic world including the crises in Kosovo, Chechnya and Afghanistan and added the current president of OIC (Qatar) is expected to continue this effective role so that the status of the organization is maintained.

Referring to the current problems of the Islamic world, Khatami said Islamic countries should resolve their internal problems first and move toward establishing democratic governments so that they can maintain their status and power in the international arena.

Prior to President Khatami's speech, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi reported on the function of OIC during the three years of Iran's presidency and said regional and international organizations, in which the unanimous decisions are made, have their own problems.

On the achievements of Iran during its presidency, Kharrazi said the creation of convergence and mutual confidence among the members of OIC and their participation in cultural, economic and political were among the achievements.

He added the creation of a common market and upgrading the level of trade between Islamic countries from 10 to 30 percent and the establishment of a body comprising of the past, present and future presidents of OIC are among other achievements of Iran's presidency of the OIC.

Also Italian Minister of Interior Enzo Bianco, heading a delegation arrived here on Friday evening at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Hojjatoleslam Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari.

During his four-day visit, the Italian minister is to meet President Mohammad Khatami, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Information Minister Ali Younessi and some other Iranian senior officials.

The 12-member Italian security delegation was welcomed at the International Mehrabad Airport by Mohammadjavad Haqshenas, Interior Ministry director general in charge of political and international affairs.

Upon arrival in Tehran, Bianco expressed satisfaction with his visit as the first interior minister of the European Union (EU) visiting Iran.

He stressed that his visit is aimed at discussing anti-drug campaign, combating terrorism and organized crimes, as well as the situation of refugees living in Iran with senior Iranian officials.

Meanwhile, Haqshenas told IRNA that the two sides would sign a memorandum of understanding during the visit of the Italian delegation to Tehran.

Referring to Italy's cultural background and the country's ancient civilization, he said that the two countries are due to talk about preservation of cultural heritage.

Meanwhile, the Italian delegation is also to hold two rounds of official talks with officials of the Interior Ministry.

(IRNA)