TEHRAN - Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai visited Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf in Tehran's Sa'adabad palace on Monday.

Karzai, who was happy to see Makhmalbaf, thanked him in front of the Iranian and foreign media and called him a sympathetic artist and a supporter of the Afghan people.

Makhmalbaf's film ****Journey to Kandahar***, released last year, depicted the hardships of the war-stricken people of Afghanistan. The film was highly acclaimed around the world.

During the visit, Makhmalbaf dedicated his Federico Fellini Gold Medal, which he received from UNESCO for the film ***Journey to Kandahar***, to Karzai for the sake of the liberty of the Afghan nation.

Makhmalbaf stated that three schools are being built in Herat and Urzekan provinces with the cooperation of two Iranian artists and the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran and added, "Construction of these schools, which will accommodate over 6,000 students, has begun and they will soon open".