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Brussels, Nov 19, IRNA -- The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, held ''friendly and open discussions'' with visiting Iranian foreign minister Dr.Kamal Kharrazi in Brussels Monday evening, a spokesman for Prodi told IRNA.
Spokesman Reijo Kempinnen said the two men discussed EU-Iran relations and regional issues including Iraq and the situation in Afghanistan.
Prodi underlined the importance of EU-Iran negotiations on a trade and cooperation agreement as well as the political dialogue that begins in December.
The two sides noted that the need for investments in Iran was more important now than before given the large number of young population in the Islamic Republic.
Prodi and Kharrazi had a lengthy exchange of views on the situation in Afghanistan and the difficult situation being faced by Karzai's administration.
Kharrazi proposed cooperation between the EU and Iran to tackle the problem of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.
Kempinnen pointed out that the issue is of outmost importance for the EU as a large part of drugs from Afghanistan are smuggled to European countries.
On Iraq, the two sides voiced concern about the explosive situation and its consequences on both Iran and Europe.
Prodi and Kharrazi also touched upon the issue of human rights in Iran and in this context discussed the possibility of judicial cooperation between the EU and Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Brussels Monday morning on a 2-day visit for talks with top EU officials aimed at boosting cooperation and relations between the Islamic Republic and the 5-member European bloc.
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