IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Baghdad late on Saturday at the head of a high-ranking delegation.

Zarif is in Baghdad to prepare arrangements for President Hassan Rouhani’s upcoming official visit to the neighboring state. He was welcomed by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s officials.

Rouhani is to travel to Iraq at the official invitation of that country’s president and prime minister on Monday at the head of a high-ranking delegation.

During his three-day visit to Iraq, Rouhani is to confer with the senior Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani.

Exploring avenues for promoting bilateral relations in the political, economic and cultural fields are among the main objectives of the Iranian president’s official visit to Iraq.