TEHRAN – An exhibition by Iranian artists opened on Tuesday at the National Museum of Tajikistan in the capital city of Dushanbe.

Collections of paintings, calligraphy works and handicrafts are on view at the exhibition, which is a part of the programs set up for the Iranian Cultural Week that opened on Monday in the country.

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili and several Iranian cultural officials attended the opening ceremony of the showcase.

In a short speech, he expressed his thanks for Tajik cultural officials’ hospitality and said, “I’m really happy seeing Iranian artists’ active participation at the exhibition, which will travel to the cities of Khujand and Bokhtar in the upcoming days.”

In early October, the Tajikistan Culture Week was organized in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz.    

“Now, after about a month, the Iranian artists are in Tajikistan, and this shows the countries’ great interest in the expansion of cultural relations,” Esmaeili said.

“Undoubtedly, artists and literati in the two countries may play a key role in the expansion of cultural ties by organizing such an exhibition,” he added.

Davlat Sharif Safarzoda, Deputy Culture Minister of Tajikistan, also accompanied Esmaeili on the visit to the exhibition.

“People of Tajikistan have a lot in common with Iranian artists and feel greatly honored to host the exhibition,” Safarzoda said.

“In the same way that the great people of Iran were very kind and hospitable to our artists during the Tajikistan Cultural Week in Iran, today our people are praising the Iranian arts and feeling good with them,” he added.  

“This friendship is deeply rooted in our common history and we should maintain and support it,” he noted.

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

The MOU was inked by Esmaeili and the Culture Minister of Tajikistan, Zulfiya Davlatzoda, during her visit to Iran to attend the opening of the Tajikistan Cultural Week 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.

“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,” he added.

Photo: Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili (R) visits an exhibition by Iranian artists at the National Museum of Tajikistan in Dushanbe on November 1, 2022.

MMS/YAW