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Monday, May 10, 2004
Austria's Haider, Vice Chancellor In Iran For Trade Talks
May 10, 2004
Dow Jones Newswires
The Associated Press
VIENNA -- Austrian rightist Joerg Haider and Vice Chancellor Hubert Gorbach, a senior member of the ultraconservative Freedom Party, were heading to Iran Monday for meetings with Iranian leaders.
The visit by Gorbach and Haider, the governor of the Austrian province of Carinthia and a former Freedom Party leader, comes three weeks after the pair visited Libya.
Gorbach was to meet with Iran's minister of transportation, Ahmad Khorram, and also planned to meet with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, Austrian media said. Gorbach and Haider were leading a 45-member delegation of Austrian businessmen hoping to explore trade possibilities in Iran, with the focus on helping Iran improve its roadway system.
The delegation said Austria, as a small, politically neutral country, was in a unique position to capitalize on Iran's desires to cement closer ties to Europe.
Their three-day visit drew criticism Sunday from Austria's leftist Green Party, whose spokeswoman, Ulrike Lunacek, accused Iran's conservative government of sending "false signals" on its commitment to democratic reforms.
link to original article
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