Iranian minister calls for expansion of cultural ties with Egypt

TEHRAN, July 30 (MNA) -- Iran and Egypt should expand their cultural relations, Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini told the members of an Egyptian cinematic delegation during a meeting in Tehran on Thursday.

There is an ancient relationship between the two nations and several books by Egyptian intellectuals have been translated into Persian, Hosseini said at the meeting, which was held at the Culture Ministry.

“We hope that relations between two countries would expand after the victory of the Islamic Revolution but regrettably, ties were cut afterwards,” he said.

Unlike European cinema, which is under the influence of Hollywood, Iran’s cinema is independent from Western cinema, Hosseini claimed.

He also pointed to the cinema of Egypt saying it is powerful and that the two countries can boost the Islamic perspective with increased cooperation.

Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Hamid Shahabadi, Iran’s Documentary and Experimental Film Center director Shafi Aqamohammadian, and Iranian Young Cinema Society Director Hashem Mirzakhani attended the event.

“Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance invited a group of cinematic managers, authors, producers and directors to Tehran to strengthen cultural and artistic ties between the two countries,” culture ministry official Gholamreza Montazemi previously mentioned in a press release.

In early June, another delegation of Egyptian cultural figures and artists travelled to Iran to boost cultural ties between the two countries.