Austrian far-right leader Mr Joerg Haider, who sparked protests by visiting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein despite a UN embargo of Iraq, will meet Baghdad's foreign minister in Austria today, officials said.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mr Naji Sabri will travel to the Alpine province of Carinthia, where Mr Haider is governor, after talks at the United Nations in Vienna on resuming weapons inspections in Iraq.
Mr Sabri, a former Iraqi ambassador in Vienna, has called Mr Haider "one of my best friends in this country". Mr Haider in turn has made close relations with Iraq part of his political repertoire, including calling for an end to the UN sanctions imposed following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Mr Sabri's two-day talks in Vienna with UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan were scheduled to end later today.
Mr Haider's office in the city of Klagenfurt declined to specify a reason for the meeting or say what Mr Haider and Mr Sabri would discuss.
"We can confirm that they are meeting, but we can't give any details," a press officer told reporters.
Diplomatic sources told reporters that Mr Sabri was going to Klagenfurt to visit Mr Haider as a friend.
The populist firebrand politician stepped down from national politics earlier this year after the February trip to Baghdad where he shook hands with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.