TEHRAN - Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is expected to arrive in Tehran today for a two-day official visit.

Sezer is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami today to discuss bilateral as well as regional and international issues.

Sezer will leave Tehran for the northwestern city of Tabriz on Tuesday and will return to his country later in the day.

Turkish presidential advisor Tacan Ildem said that Ankara attaches great significance to its relations with Tehran.

Ildem made the remarks at a press conference in Ankara on Friday, adding that Iran-Turkey bilateral relations have grown in recent years.

He noted that the focus of current mutual security ties is the campaign against terrorism and stabilizing security on their shared borders.

"In a symbolic step to boost bilateral cultural relations, a Turkish language and literature course will be initiated at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran during Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's upcoming visit to Iran," he observed.

Meanwhile, Turkish Ambassador to Iran Salahuddin Alpar said that Afghan reconstruction, Iraq, the Palestine issue, and "dialogue among civilizations" would be discussed during talks between the Iranian and Turkish presidents.

Stressing that Turkey's foreign policy is based on non-intervention and respect for other countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity, Alpar said that Iran and Turkey can cooperate in establishing security in the region. He added that expanding economic relations between the two neighboring states and taking confidence-building measures would be the best ways to realize this objective.

He said that Turkish foreign policy is based on peace and cooperation and that there is no argument between Turkey and its neighbors in this regard.

He noted that the two countries are trying to deepen their relations and will not hesitate to discuss their differences.

Asked to give his views about U.S. influence on Tehran-Ankara ties, the ambassador stated that Turkey is an important regional state, adding that it bases its foreign policy on national interests and is not influenced by any other country.

He said that both Ankara and Tehran are doing their utmost to further develop cordial ties between the Iranian and Turkish nations.