Envoy: Books play big role in Iran-Turkey ties

Turkey’s envoy to Tehran said books can play a major role in boosting relations between countries, particularly Iran and Turkey, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Reza Hakan Tekin, who was visiting the 31st Tehran International Book Fair on Friday, said that books can play a big role in improving the relations between countries, but the impact should be boosted by other mechanisms.

He said that some coordination on joint cultural projects has been made with Iran’s Ministry of Culture. If the projects are implemented, there would be a great progress in bilateral cultural relations between Iran and Turkey, the Turk ambassador said.

The envoy expressed his interest in Persian literature, particularly Rumi’s Masnavi, and called for more support by the two governments for the book and publishers to have a more enhanced means of cultural relations.

Tehran International Book Fair, spanning an area of 130,000 square meters, was opened to public on May 2 and will run until May 12. A number of publishers from Germany, China, Italy, Oman, Hungary, Austria, Russia and Iraq are also presenting their books in the fair.

Serbia is the guest country and Tunis (the capital city of Tunisia) is the guest city of the Tehran International Book Fair.