UN humanitarian chief to visit Iran Sunday

United Nations: UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos will make an official visit to Iran Sunday to discuss regional cooperation on humanitarian assistance, the UN said Thursday. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator will visit Iran Aug 17-18 and is expected to meet senior officials in Tehran, Xinhua quoted UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying. Amos`s meetings would "focus on expanding regional cooperation on humanitarian assistance and strengthening the partnership between Iran and the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)", Dujarric said. The visit will also be an opportunity to draw attention to Iran`s considerable experience and expertise in disaster management and humanitarian response, according to OCHA.

This will be the second official visit of Amos to the country in her capacity. Her earlier mission occurred in September 2013, when she hailed the opportunity to work more closely with the Islamic Republic in regional and international humanitarian affairs.