Hawzah News Agency –Hojatoleslam Imanipour speaking in the meeting of "Empathy with World Cities" in the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization said tourism development is one of the important sectors for promotion of country’s cultural economy.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO), in cooperation between ICRO and the National Commission for UNESCO-Iran, the meeting "Empathy with World Cities" attended by Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mahdi Imanipour, President of ICRO, The mayors of creative cities of Iran and senior cultural managers of the country, deputies and managers of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts was held in Hoseinieh Al-Zahra (PBUH) at the Headquarters of ICRO in downtown Tehran.

Hojatoleslam Imanipour, referring to the philosophy of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, said ICRO was established in 1995 as the center of public diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to integrate cultural activities and coherence of Iranian international cultural activities abroad to give a clear picture of present Iranian-Islamic culture and civilization to the world.

He referred to the role of ICRO in the field of cultural diplomacy and the emphasis and orders of the Supreme Leader, the President and the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) regarding the revolutionary reconstruction of cultural structures and the transformation of international and cultural affairs.

He said in order to use the potentials and capabilities of other cities in strengthening and supporting cultural consultations in the region, we intend to establish representative offices to introduce our historical, cultural and scientific potentials.

Hojatoleslam Imanipour emphasized that sisterhood promotes sustainable development of cities and cultural and international interactions and provides an opportunity to hold joint meetings and international conferences between the cities of Iran and other countries.

He concluded his speech by saying that ICRO considers tourism as one of the important fields of cultural economy and stressed the need to use the potentials of provinces and cities and pave the way for cooperation and interaction in the international cultural field.

Hojatullah Ayoubi, Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO-Iran, referring to the importance of holding the first World Assembly of Iranian Cities, said UNESCO has concluded since 2004 that cities are the center of development and the power house of economic, social, urban and cultural issues and it took a long time for the authorities to realize that cultural goods are part of the basic goods of a society.

He said the mayors of creative cities should introduce the capacities of Iranian-Islamic culture in various fields such as Nowruz celebrations, Silk Road, customs, tourism, etc. to all parts of the world.

Ayoubi suggested that a package with the content of introducing the history, civilization, culture and customs of Iranian cities be prepared and distributed abroad with the cooperation of Iranian cultural advisors.

Ali Asghar Shalbafian, Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Ministry of Heritage, Culture, Tourism and Handicrafts, another speaker of the gathering said tourism is an effective tool to defend the true image of the country and can also play an important role in creating employment.

Referring to the potentials of ICRO in promoting cultural diplomacy, he said fortunately, Iran’s cultural attaches and missions abroad, affiliated to ICRO can be a popular base for tourism development.