Iran, Italy culture officials meet

Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed-Reza Salehi-Amiri has met the undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism Antimo Cesaro in Tehran.

Cesaro, in Tehran to supervise the programs arranged by Italy as the special guest at the 30th Tehran International Book Fair, met the Iranian minister on Tuesday to discuss the expansion of cultural relations.

Salehi-Amiri expressed the willingness of Iranian culture ministry for expanding cooperation with Italy and called on inking a cultural memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Italian counterpart.

Explaining some details about the activities of different departments at his ministry, he also noted that the Tehran book fair is directed by the cultural department of the ministry.

Attending Iran’s most important event in book and publishing industry, Cesaro, for his part, said due to cultural affinities between the two nations, developing relationships between Iran and Italy is necessary.

He added that Iran’s cinema industry is fairly well known in Italy and in the world, saying the choice of Italy as the special guest of the Tehran book fair is a defining moment in the history of cultural collaboration between the two states.

The Italian official also suggested that his country is willing to establish a cultural office in Iran to help developing ties between Tehran and Rome.

The Tehran International Book Fair is staged in Tehran early in May on an annual basis. The cultural event has turned into a landmark, momentous book fair in the Middle East and Asia after 29 editions in a row.

Millions of visitors inspect the fair every year, including thousands of university students, scholars and their families. The event currently serves as one of the most significant cultural events in Iran.

Hundreds of cultural projects are carried out during the term of the landmark Tehran event as sideline activities, including book review sessions, face-to-face meetings with Iranian authors, lecture sessions, and writing workshops.

The 30th edition of the Tehran International Book Fair is slated for May 2-13, 2017.

MG/HY