Hawzah News Agency- Heading the Iranian delegation, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mehdi Imanipour, who leads Iran’s Organization of Culture and Islamic Communication, met with Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova to discuss expanding cooperation, including staging an Iranian cultural week in Russia.
According to a report from the Iranian embassy in Russia, Imanipour thanked the Russian side for the invitation and warm hospitality. He also expressed gratitude for Russia’s support of Iran under wartime conditions and stressed Russia’s constructive and influential role in developments across the Islamic world.
The Iranian official emphasized the need to activate the joint Iran-Russia cultural committee and announced Iran’s readiness to hold a cultural week in Russia this September. Part of the program, he suggested, could be hosted in the city of Kazan, which has been named the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for 2026. He further highlighted the key role of diplomats in strengthening cultural ties and spoke of Iranian filmmakers' readiness to take part in Russian film festivals.
For her part, the Russian culture minister thanked the Iranian delegation for attending KazanForum 2026. She noted the successful staging of a Russian cultural week in Iran and welcomed the recent participation of prominent Iranian director Majid Majidi in a Russian cultural event, where his film "God of War" was screened.
Lyubimova also stressed the importance of expanding cinematic cooperation, including through the planned screening of the Russian film "Child" in Iran, and underlined the need to strengthen agreements in cinema and the arts.
She further invited the Iranian delegation to attend the "Intermuseum" festival in May and the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum in September, expressing hope that Iranian representatives and children would actively participate in Russian cultural and children’s festivals.
Separately, Iran's Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, who was present during the talks between Lyubimova and Imanipour, addressed the KazanForum on the state of bilateral relations and the role of cultural dialogue in contemporary geopolitics.
Jalali described cultural exchange as a powerful tool to counter ideological pressure, arguing that engagement among nations is the best way to overcome notions of "cultural superiority" that certain Western countries seek to impose. He made clear that Tehran considers fundamentally wrong any attempt by governments or currents to present their own culture as superior to others.
"Cooperation between Tehran and Moscow has today officially entered a strategic phase," the Iranian envoy said. "We see enormous capacity for further expanding relations across various fields."
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