Head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Masoud Soltanifar, who is currently in Tunisia at the head of a specialized tourism delegation, is to meet with President Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi.

The Iranian delegation accompanying Soltanifar comprises tourism activists of the private and state-run sectors.

The fifth meeting of Joint Technical Committee of Iran-Tunisia Tourism Cooperation was held on Wednesday with deputy head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed and Iran’s Ambassador to Tunisia Mostafa Boroujerdi and Tunisian deputy minister of tourism and handicrafts in attendance.

Documents prepared during the meeting will be signed in the form of a tourism memorandum of understanding.

Earlier in separate meetings, Soltanifar discussed tourism-related issues with Tunisian Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Salmi al-Raqiq and Culture Minister Latifeh al-Khazr.

During the meeting, Al-Raqiq referred to three-millennia-old civilization of Tunisia, saying that given its strategic location in North Africa and beside Mediterranean Sea, the country hosted tourists from various cultures.

Since Tunisia is a Muslim country, enhancement of bilateral ties between Tehran and Tunis is essential, she said.

Soltanifar, for his part, referred to Iran’s tourism attractions and its capacity for hosting tourists, saying that the country is ready to provide facilities to the Tunisian investors intending to build hotels in Iran.

The supports include granting legal facilities and permissions, he said, noting that investors from the Persian Gulf littoral states are currently engaged in constructing 12 hotels in Iran.

Iran is planning to raise the number of four- and five-star hotels from the current 130 to 400 in the next ten years, he said.