ARMENIAN-IRANIAN COOPERATION IN CULTURE AND LITERATURE ACHIEVES NEW LEVEL

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 20 2006

A delegation of Armenian writers will attend a conference
"Armenian-Iranian Cooperation: Sight at Future" scheduled for November
21-27 in Iran, Levon Ananyan, Chairman of the Union of Writers of
Armenia said at a press conference, Monday.

He said that since 2004 when Iranian writers participated in a
conference "Literature Bridges," the cooperation in the spheres of
culture and literature of the two countries has achieved a new level.

During the last 15 years, some 30 books widely representing the Iranian
literature have been translated from Farsi into Armenian. In addition,
a new edition of Koran in Armenian will be published soon.

Among Iranian translators, L. Ananyan mentioned Ahmad Nurizade,
who introduced Iranian readers to the Armenian poetry.

Adviser for Culture of Iranian Embassy in Armenia Reza Atufi called
the forthcoming visit of Armenian delegation the turning-point in the
cooperation in the spheres of culture and literature. The cooperation
of Armenia and Iran in the political, economic and cultural spheres
has a great strategic importance, he said. The Armenian delegation
will participate in a number of cultural events in the towns of
Esfahan and Tehran. R. Atufi said that the selection of Esfahan was
not accidental. Culture ministers of 57 Islamic countries and members
of ISESCO recognized that town as the cultural capital of the Islamic
world on January 1 2006.

On November 28, immediately after the Armenian delegation returns
from Iran, an exhibition devoted to the culture of Esfahan will open
in Yerevan.