TEHRAN - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami will travel to Malaysia on July 21 at the head of an important political and economic delegation, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said Tuesday, cited by state radio.

Kharazi, currently in Malaysia for an economic reunion, made the statement during an interview with Iranian television in Kuala Lumpur carried by Iran's state radio.

The visit will be the first by Khatami to Malaysia since he took office in May 1997.

During his presidency, former head of state Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani travelled to Kuala Lumpur while Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad visited Iran in 1993.

The two Islamic countries enjoy good political ties and cooperate in the oil sector. Malaysia's national oil company Petronas is an associate of the French TotalFina-Elf oil company for oil exploitation projects in the Persian Gulf. -AFP