Iran, Serbia to expand cultural ties

Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed-Reza Salehi-Amiri has met his Serbian counterpart Vladan Vukosavljević in Tehran.

The high-rank officials discussed the need to expand cultural cooperation between the two countries on Wednesday.

The Iranian minister noted that Tehran and Belgrade have a great potential to develop joint cooperation in different fields of arts and culture, including music, performing and visual arts, cinema as well as the press.

“The two sides can also work together in cyberspace, publication, organization of book fairs and a variety of cultural festivals,” Salehi-Amiri said during the meeting.

He also asked his Serbian counterpart to plan a joint program for expansion of collaboration between the two countries’ elite communities.

For his part, Vukosavljević pointed out that Iran’s attendance at Belgrade International Book Fair in 2016 was very productive and constructive.

“Right now, relations between the two states are at a high level and we have many cultural exchanges and agreements,” the Serbian minister said.

He also noted that translation of cultural productions will lead to a better understanding of each nation, and at this time the Iranian cultural attaché in Belgrade is translating and publishing reference and poetry books from great Iranian poets.

The Serbian minister has arrived in Tehran to pay visit to the 30th edition of Tehran International Book Fair, currently running at Shahr-e Aftab International Exhibition Complex.

Setting up a special pavilion at the expo, Serbia will introduce its publications on Thursday.

Being held in an area over 130,000 square meters, the exhibition is slated to showcase more than 4,000 titles by more than 2,700 domestic and foreign publishers.

MG/MMF