Nadhim: The interests of Iraq and Iran require activating joint cultural cooperation

Baghdad - INA 

The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nadhim, affirmed that the interest of Iraq and Iran requires activating joint cultural cooperation.

A statement by the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that "the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Hassan Nadhim, met the Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Parliament Affairs and the former Minister of Culture and Guidance, Muhammad Hosseini, to discuss a number of cultural and tourism files that concern the two countries."

 The statement added, "The senior Iranian official welcomed Nadhim's visit and his accompanying delegation to Iran, describing it as a prominent event." 

Nadhim stressed, according to the statement, that "the two countries' interest requires activating cultural cooperation and creating more opportunities for joint work in the various cultural and artistic aspects, recalling the historical and civilizational depth of the Iraqi and Iranian peoples."

He added, "We came to Iran with a diverse cultural delegation that included the sectors of tourism, antiquities, publishing books, plastic art, cinema and music, to achieve maximum mutual benefit with Iranian cultural institutions and to sign memoranda of understanding and agreements that contribute to establishing a new phase of effective cultural work between the two countries."

For his part, the Iranian vice president valued the efforts made by the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities to strengthen relations between the two countries at all levels, stressing at the same time the Iranian government's keenness to provide the required facilities to facilitate the entry of Iraqi visitors to the holy shrines in Iran.