Iranian, Pakistani officials discuss cultural cooperation

During the meeting at Tehran International Book Fair on Saturday, Hosseini voiced Tehran's preparedness to cooperate with Pakistan in cultural fields such as holding book fairs and different forums and conferences. He also expressed Iran's preparedness to jointly make movies and documentaries about Pakistani reputable figures and developments. Hosseini stated that Iranians love Allameh Iqbal Lahouri, the famous poet who played an important role to spread and disseminate Persian language and literature. The Minister said that Urdu and Persian have 50 percent common lexicon which proves the similarities and commonalities. The Pakistani minister, for his part, thanked Iranian government and nation for providing their Pakistani brothers and sisters with assistance in emergency situations. He also invited Hosseini to pay a visit to Pakistan. Iran and Pakistan have always had very close and intimate relations throughout the history. The two countries exchange delegations on a regular basis and their leaders are resolved to further accelerate expansion of ties and cooperation between the two neighboring nations. Late in March, Iranian and Pakistani presidents in a meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, reiterated the two countries' enthusiasm for the further expansion of bilateral economic relations. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari underlined the need for further expansion of all-out ties, particularly in the field of economy.