Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Bulgarian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Petkov in a meeting here Sunday reviewed ways of strengthening bilateral ties

At the meeting, Kharrazi said that Tehran and Sofia should expand cooperation in fields of transit, trade, extending gas pipelines to Europe and joint economic projects by establishing a commission, according to the Foreign Ministry Media Department. Referring to the developments in Iraq, he added that Iraqi problems could be solved by ceding its affairs to its people, the withdrawal of occupying forces from the country and the meeting the requirements of its senior religious authorities. The Bulgarian official, for his part, referred to the expansion of political, economic and parliamentary ties between the two countries, saying, "The trend of bilateral ties has a positive output." Petkov reiterated that Kharrazi's visit to Sofia has been fruitful in identifying the potentials of mutual cooperation. Kharrazi, heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation visited Sofia on September 10 at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart. Touching upon the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bulgarian official stressed that the interests of Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan nations as well as geographical borders and cultural affairs are required to strengthen the fields of joint cooperation between Iran and Bulgaria in order to deploy a democratic system in Iraq under the presence of Bulgarian peacekeeping forces.