Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said he has been impressed by the degree of willingness Italian companies have shown to cooperate with Iran, stressing the need to resume direct flights between the two countries.

“At the invitation of the Italy-Iran Chamber of Commerce, yesterday in Rome, I met the Italian private sector companies,” the top Iranian diplomat said in a post on his Twitter account early Wednesday.

“Their eagerness to work with Iran was very impressive. The resumption of direct Tehran-Rome flight is instrumental to our joint efforts,” he added, as quoted by Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian foreign minister has held high-profile meetings during his stay in Italy and the Vatican.

Amir Abdollahian had already described his Monday talks with the Italian foreign minister and also his meeting with the Italian industry owners, businesspeople and investors as constructive and fruitful.

He added that the issues he discussed with his Italian counterpart included activating parliamentary diplomacy based on protocols signed in 2000 regarding parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

Source: Agencies