TEHRAN - In a meeting focused on deepening cultural ties, Indian Ambassador to Iran, Rudra Gaurav Shresth, lauded Iran as the world’s oldest civilization and proposed several initiatives to enhance cultural cooperation between the two nations.

On Sunday morning, Ali Darabi, the Iranian deputy tourism minister, met with Rudra Gaurav Shresth, the Indian Ambassador, discussing the deep-rooted cultural and historical ties between the two countries.

Darabi opened the meeting by highlighting over 3,000 years of cooperation and interaction between Iran and India. “The cultural diplomacy between India and Iran is ancient and has been preserved throughout the ages,” Darabi stated.

The deputy minister also emphasized the strategic partnership between the two nations, especially in the realm of cultural heritage, referencing the shared effort to register Nowruz with UNESCO.

Darabi proposed holding an Iran-India cultural night and organizing joint museum exhibitions as further steps to strengthen cultural ties.

In response, Shresth lauded Iran as the world’s oldest civilization, asserting that the entire country is a cultural heritage site. Numerous other Iranian sites, he suggested, deserve UNESCO World Heritage status.

The Persian language was the official language of India for around 700 years, according to the ambassador.

Even today, he added, Persian is one of the nine classical languages recognized in the Indian Constitution.

He continued that approximately 30% of the vocabulary in northern India has Persian roots and expressed the continuing interest in learning Persian among the public.

Shresth mentioned the exhibition of “Indian Jades at the Golestan Palace” as an example of successful cultural cooperation, expressing a desire for increased collaboration in tourism, cultural heritage, and handicrafts, citing the underwhelming tourist exchange between the culturally close nations.

The Indian envoy remarked on the evident influence of Persian architecture on Indian landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, proposing knowledge exchange in preservation and promotion of these historical sites.

Pointing to the similarities in artistic works housed in numerous Indian museums, the ambassador suggested collaborative efforts in museum management and preservation.

Furthermore, Shrestha noted India’s advancements in IT, proposing joint ventures in creating digital catalogs of museum artifacts.

XF/AM