The Dominican Republic seeks first-hand cultural relations with Iran, saying media distorts the truth about the Islamic Republic.

"We are interested in Iran's ancient civilization and rich culture, and would like to get acquainted with its culture without a middleman or through media," the Dominican science minister told Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad-Mehdi Zahedi on the sidelines of UNESCO's general conference in Vienna.

For his part, Zahedi expressed Iran's eagerness to expand scientific ties with Latin American nations.

Zahedi also met the ministers of science of Bahrain, Syria, Kuwait and Venezuela. In their meeting, they stressed the importance of transferring technology to and from Iran and also establishing better scientific and academic relations with the country.

After receiving an invitation to visit Iranian universities and scientific centers, the Bahraini minister voiced his country's readiness to expand ties with Iran, especially in different scientific fields.

Venezuela's minister also called for bolstering relations between the two nations and said, "Venezuela supports Iran's world stance, because we believe that the world must be multi-polar."

MT/AA/PA