Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday confirmed he will visit to Rome to attend the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) summit, the official news agency IRNA reported.

"See you all tomorrow (Tuesday) early in the morning at the airport," Ahmadinejad told reporters at a press conference in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad refrained from further comment but indicated that he would give more details about the Rome visit before his departure.

Ahmadinejad initially planned a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI which was however cancelled by the Vatican.

The Iranian president is reportedly also not expected to meet Premier Silvio Berlusconi but Italian businessmen interested in making business with the Islamic state.

The visit to Rome to attend the June 3-5 FAO summit would be Ahmadinejad's first to a European Union nation since his June 2005 election and his second to the Western world after twice attending the UN General Assembly in New York. (dpa)