Iran welcomes expansion of cultural cooperation with Kabul; emphasizes strengthening historical relations and establishing direct communication channels

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) – Kabul: The Ministry of Information and Culture announced that Ezzatullah Asif, cultural attaché of the Islamic Emirate Embassy in Iran, met and discussed with Dr. Abdul Reza Rashed, deputy head of the Development of Regional and International Relations and Studies of the Iranian Culture and Islamic Relations Organization.

 

A press release issued by the ministry stated that the meeting was held with the aim of expanding cultural relations between Kabul and Tehran and examining common areas of cooperation, and that the two sides emphasized the importance of developing cultural relations at the governmental and people-to-people levels.

 

Welcoming the presence of the cultural representative of the Islamic Emirate Embassy, ​​Dr. Rashed said that Iran is ready to have broader cooperation with Afghanistan in various cultural, scientific and artistic fields. He announced his country's full support for this year's cultural programs and assessed them as a way to strengthen the brotherly and historical relations between the two nations.

 

In contrast, Ezzatollah Asif, explaining some of the cultural programs planned by the embassy this year, called for effective cooperation from the Iranian Islamic Culture and Relations Organization in implementing these programs.

 

According to the press release, at the end of the meeting, the two sides expressed satisfaction with the ongoing process of interactions and agreed to establish a direct communication channel between the cultural institutions of the two countries to facilitate the exchange of programs and subsequent coordination. They called this meeting a starting point for implementing larger projects in the future.

 

It is worth noting that Iran and Afghanistan have deep historical, cultural and linguistic ties, and in recent years, cultural exchanges between the two countries, especially through the Iranian cultural centers in Kabul, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, have always been maintained. Earlier, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Arts of the Ministry of Information and Culture had visited the Iranian Cultural Center in Kabul and emphasized the strengthening of cultural relations with neighboring countries.

 

In the current challenging environment of the region, cultural interactions can provide a suitable platform for reducing tensions, mutual understanding, and strengthening convergence between nations. Relations between Afghanistan and Iran, especially in the cultural dimension, have deep historical and civilizational capacities that, if managed purposefully, can help create new opportunities for the young generation, cultural and artistic institutions, and strengthen the common language and literature. Establishing direct communication channels between cultural institutions can be considered an effective step towards consolidating these cooperations and developing cultural diplomacy between the two countries.