Iran, Russia Fortify Cultural Ties

As part of efforts to strengthen cultural interactions with Russia, Iran attended the Sixth St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum held late last week at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts at Russian Academy of Sciences.

In the meeting, Mohammad Beheshti, the head of Research Institute of Cultural Heritage & Tourism and assistant professor at Shahid Beheshti University, discussed the most viable ways of collaboration between the two countries with Irina Popova, the head of IOM.

Pointing to the two countries' long-time relations, the officials discussed Iran's historical values, highlighting them as an excellent opportunity to broaden joint cultural activities, ILNA reported.

"To meet the target, the Institute of Iranian and Islamic Manuscripts was established at IOM, to boost Iranian studies in Russia, especially in St. Petersburg," Popova said.

The Russian official called on Iranian heritage authorities to help update the database of oriental manuscripts, including 4,000 items, kept at IOM.

"The collection was gathered and organized by Iranologists and experts during the 1960s to 70's," she added.

Popova expressed her readiness for collaboration with Iran and invited the Iranian heritage officials to attend the international conference celebrating the 200th anniversary of IOM in November 2018.

"Among other would-be participants from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, we would be glad if Iranian experts supported the institute in holding the event," she said.

Reza Maleki, Iranian cultural advisor to Moscow, and Parviz Qasemi, Iranian cultural attaché at Islamic Culture and Communications Organization in Russia, also attended the meeting.  

Following the meeting, a photo exhibition was inaugurated at IOM's Green Hall featuring 28 photos of Iran's cultural heritage sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Heritage authorities of Iran are seeking to expand cultural ties with Russia. Earlier, during the International Cultural Forum, RICHT had signed a memorandum of understanding with the state Hermitage Museum for scientific and cultural cooperation.