TEHRAN An Egyptian trade fair, currently being held in Tehran, will improve economic and political relations between Egypt and Iran, the Persian daily ****Seda-ye Edalat***** Sunday cited the head of the visiting delegation Mostafa el-Kheshen as saying.

"The promotion of trade, cultural, art and sports ties will certainly lead to the improvement of positive objectives of the two countries in the political field," the paper quoted him as saying.

Egypt inaugurated its first exclusive trade fair in Iran on Wednesday for the first time after the two countries froze their relations 22 years ago. The country also participated in the Tehran international trade fair last year.

The six-day exhibition involves 27 companies promoting handicrafts, textiles and industrial products. The Islamic Republic held two specialized trade fairs in Egypt in 1999 and 2000.

According to ***Seda-ye Edalat***, El-Kheshen expressed displeasure over the freeze of ties in the two Muslim countries' diplomatic relations, severed after Cairo signed a peace treaty with the Zionist regime of Israel.

Tehran-Cairo ties started to take off after pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami took office in Iran in 1997. Earlier this year, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on the sidelines of a developing nations summit.

The two countries, however, have a long way ahead to go before diplomatic relations could be resumed. Several issues have been sticking points in their ties, of subsidiary importance the naming of a street which honors the assassin of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

Last month, Tehran's City Council agreed to urgent debate on changing the name of the street which has strained Iran-Egypt relations.

The council said it wanted to rename Khaled Eslamboli street either for the "martyrs of the Intifada", the Palestinian uprising, or Mohammad al-Dorra, the Palestinian boy whose killing last year by Israeli troops shocked the world.

Cairo has said that the street name is a barrier to restoring full diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Tehran Mayor Morteza Alviri said he welcomed a change of name, as controversial names could "cause annoyance for the two countries."

Eslamboli gunned down sadat during a troop parade in 1981 after Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel.

Amr Mussa, then Egypt's foreign minister, said in February that there was "no valid reason" why the two nations should not have full ties but stopped short of calling for a total resumption of relations.