TEHRAN A visit to Tehran by Italian Minister of Production Activities Antonio Marzano at this particular time carries very important meanings, the Italian Ambassador to Iran, Riccardo Sessa, told a press briefing here on Saturday.

Marzano was scheduled to arrive here on Saturday at the head of an Italian economic and commercial delegation. He is being accompanied by Italian officials, industrialists and entrepreneurs.

Ambassador Sessa said that the purpose of the trip is to carefully evaluate the steps that need to be taken to upgrade economic ties between Rome and Tehran, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Sessa said that the Italian government and Parliament attach special attention to this trip within the framework of traditional diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Commenting on Rome's policies toward Iran at the international level, the ambassador noted that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi outlined Italy's policy toward Iran in his speech in Parliament on February 5 and said Rome is determined to maintain this policy in the future.

Italy prides itself on being Iran's largest economic and trade partner in Europe. Italian companies have been doing business in Iran for more than thirty years. They have linked themselves to the Iranian economy, the ambassador said, mentioning large Italian corporations such as Eni, Ansaldo and Daniel, which are active in the petroleum, energy and steel industries, respectively.

Pointing to the strong political and economic ties between Rome and Tehran, he said that officials in Iran and Italy are eager to develop the already strong ties between the two countries.

The Italian ambassador said that his government is aware of Iran's economic problems, but Rome has a positive view of economic developments in Iran and this view is shared by other international institutions. The Iranian standing in terms of "investment risk" has been lowered from 6 to 4 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Italian government greatly assisted Iran in attaining this rank. Sessa said that all these developments are positive and suggest that prospects for the Iranian economy are very promising.

He also added that Iran-Italy trade exchanges rose by 25 percent in the first nine months of the year 2001 compared to the same period of the previous year, according to the Italian Statistics Center (STAT).

Marzano and the Iranian Minister of Mines and Industry, Is'haq Jahangiri, will hold talks on the Joint Iran-Italy Economic Commission, he said.

The Italian delegation is going to hold a very important meeting on light and medium industries with Iranian industrial officials on Monday, February 25.

Touching on the importance of light and medium industries in job creation and economic development, the ambassador said that Italy enjoys a unique advantage in such industries among the most developed countries in the world and that Italians are ready to share their experiences with Iranian officials. He also said that light and medium industries have greatly contributed to Italy's social and economic development.

Representatives of important Italian banks as well as private sector businesses are accompanying the delegation, he said, adding that Italian companies will describe their legal and financial laws to their Iranian counterparts.

Riccardo Sessa said that he is sure that everything is proceeding well. However, he said that Italy calls on Iran to clarify its rules about foreign investment as soon as possible so that Italian and other foreign investors can more easily do business in Iran.

The ambassador also said that the two sides will discuss bilateral cooperation for the reconstruction of Afghanistan under the supervision of international bodies such as the United Nations as agreed at the Tokyo Conference in January.

He noted that Italian officials are waiting for Iran to formulate a comprehensive plan for reconstruction of war-shattered Afghanistan.