UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos is to visit Iran on Sunday for two days of talks on expanding humanitarian cooperation amid a mounting thaw between Tehran and the West.
"The visit will also be an opportunity to draw attention to Iran's considerable experience and expertise in disaster management and humanitarian response and encourage Iranian engagement in the debate about the future of the humanitarian system, ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016," a UN statement said.
Iran has faced a number of natural disasters in recent years, particularly deadly earthquakes as it stands on several seismic fault lines.
A massive quake struck the southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 26,000 people and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.
Amos is also expected to hold a news conference on Sunday.
