Iran Calls for Boosting Cultural Cooperation with Iraq

Rasa - Iranian Culture Minister Reza Salehi Amiri in a meeting with Head of the Iraqi parliament Endowment and Religious Affairs Commission Ali al-Alaq in Tehran called for boosting cultural relations between the two countries.

News ID: 427944

Date: 06 March 2017 - 22:43

RNA - "The two countries intend to expand cultural ties, but a mechanism is needed to further strengthen their relations," Salehi Amiri said during the meeting in the Iranian capital on Sunday.

"Expansion of cultural and economic relations between Iran and Iraq are necessary considering commonalities in beliefs," he added.

The Iranian culture minister, meantime, said that within the framework of cultural relations, joint cultural exhibitions will be held in a bid to pave the way for further cultural and artistic exchanges.

Al-Alaq, for his part, said that Iran has important role in creating unity and proximity among religions and Muslims.

He, meantime, pointed to the emergence of the ISIL terrorist group in Syria and Iraq, and said, "Iran has played important role in supporting the Iraqi people against the terrorist group."

In a relevant development in early February, Iraqi President Fouad Massoum underlined that the US has not been able to do any harm to the Baghdad-Tehran relations.

"Iraq will not allow its ties with certain countries, including the US, damage relations with Iran," President Massoum said.

"We seek strong ties with Iran; our ties with the Islamic Republic are an important issue and rarely is there a country with which we maintain such ties as we have with Iran,” the Iraqi president added.

President Massoum recalled that Iran has been supporting the Iraqi nation ever since the embryonic stage of the anti-ISIL campaign in the Arab country.

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