TEHRAN-On the second day of the Iranian cultural delegation’s visit to Moscow, the Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova met and held talks with the Deputy Minister of Culture and Head of the Iranian Cinema Organization Raed Faridzadeh, Ambassador of Iran to Russia Kazem Jalali, and the accompanying delegation in Moscow.

At the beginning of the meeting, which aimed to explore ways to expand cultural, artistic, and cinematic cooperation between the two countries, Lyubimova expressed her pleasure at Faridzadeh’s participation in the Eurasian Film Academy program, Honaronline reported.

Emphasizing the longstanding and successful collaboration between Iranian and Russian filmmakers, she said: “Over the past decades, Iranian filmmakers have had a prominent presence at Russian festivals and have won numerous awards”.

She also referred to the upcoming Russian Cultural Week in Iran, set to be held in June in Tehran and Isfahan, where she will lead the Russian cultural delegation during the program.

The Russian Minister of Culture welcomed the revival of the cultural committee under the Iran-Russia Joint Cooperation Committee and expressed appreciation for Iran’s support of Russia in the BRICS group. Iran was also invited to participate in the cultural summit in Kazan, set to be held on May 15 and 16.

For his part, Faridzadeh conveyed greetings from the Iranian Minister of Culture and highlighted the influence of Russian culture and literature, particularly the works and adaptations of figures like Dostoevsky and Chekhov, in Iranian cinema and theater, as a sign of the cultural closeness between the two countries.

He announced Iran’s readiness to cooperate in establishing a BRICS Film, Media, and Education Union and proposed holding its meeting alongside the International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Isfahan.

Also speaking at the meeting, Kazem Jalali emphasized the foundational role of cultural relations in strengthening political ties between nations and mentioned the cultural provisions in the 20-year strategic agreement between Iran and Russia. He proposed the establishment of a Russian cultural center in Iran.

SS/