Damascus - Syrian Culture Minister Riad Nasaan Agha headed to Paris Tuesday on an official visit, the first by a Syrian minister in three years.

Nasaan Agha described the visit as "good and important."

"I was warmly welcomed," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. "The French Ministry of Culture has arranged a busy programme and a huge accompanying delegation."

"The visit comes as a new page, we hope, will be turned and written in relations between France and Syria," a Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

The minister was to meet his French counterpart Christine Anabel and other cultural officials, including the director of the Louvre Museum, late on Tuesday.

The visit comes after a long period of tense relationship between Damascus and Paris. This is the first ministerial visit to France since 2005.

Nasaan Agha will also visit the Arab World Institute in Paris.

French officials Jean David Levitte and Claude Gueant are expected to visit Damascus next Thursday to meet Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, according to sources.

The US State Department reacted with caution Monday regarding Sarkozy's plans to renew ties with Syria, saying that Washington would discuss the issue with Paris.

According to al-Arabiya news channel, France did not comment on the US reaction. (dpa)