TEHRAN – An Iranian cultural festival opened on Monday at the Ayni Opera and Ballet Theatre in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Over 50 Iranian painters, calligraphers, storytellers, musicians and artists from other fields have been invited to organize workshops, exhibitions and performances during the festival entitled “Iranian Cultural Week”.       

A book named “Friendship Light” featuring works by calligrapher Kaveh Teimuri was unveiled at the opening ceremony of the festival, which went on with a poetry night.

A lineup of Iranian films will be screened during the weeklong festival. Part of the festival’s program will be carried out in Khujand and Bokhtar during the artists’ visit to the Tajik cities.

Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, and a number of his colleagues and the Culture Minister of Tajikistan, Zulfiya Davlatzoda, were in attendance at the opening ceremony.

In a short speech at the ceremony, Esmaeili expressed his thanks to Tajik cultural officials for their widespread support for the festival and called the event a big opportunity to expand cultural ties between the two nations.

He said, “Having common cultural luminaries such as Ferdowsi, Rudaki, Hafez, Sadi and Kamal Khojandi is a great honor for the two countries.”

“The world has enjoyed our common cultural assets for a long time,” he added.

Davlatzoda also said, “Culture in Iran and Tajikistan is deeply rooted in the hearts and spirits of the two nations.”

She referred to the Tajik Culture Week organized in Iran in early October and said that the memories of the festival will live on forever.

Esmaeili and Iran’s cultural delegation are scheduled to pay visits to several museums and cultural centers and hold meetings with some Tajik cultural figures.

In early October, Iran and Tajikistan signed a memorandum of understanding in Tehran to expand cultural relations.

The MOU was inked by Esmaeili and Davlatzoda during her visit to Iran to attend the opening of a Tajik cultural festival in the Iranian capital. 

“With its new foreign policy, the Iranian government has adopted a positive attitude toward the expansion of relations with the countries in the region,” Esmaeili said after signing the MOU and added, “Over the past year, meetings have been held with the culture ministers of eight countries in the region and several cultural MOUs have also been signed.”

Photo: Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili (2nd L), poses with a present he received from his Tajik counterpart, Zulfiya Davlatzoda (2nd R), in Dushanbe on October 31, 2022.

MMS/YAW