.
DUSHANBE, March 26, 2010, Asia-Plus — President Emomali Rahmon is departing for Tehran today afternoon.
According to presidential press service, Emomali Rahmon is visiting Iran at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to attend the Navrouz celebrations there.
Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, State Adviser to the President of International Affairs Erkin Rahmatulloyev, State Adviser to the President for Media and Public Relations Saymurod Fattoyev, Minister of Transport and Communications Olim Boboyev, Minister of Culture Mirzoshorukh Asrori, Chairman of the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting Asadullo Rahmonov as well as a number of representatives of Tajik intelligentsia are accompanying Rahmon on this trip.
During his stay in Iran, President Rahmon is scheduled to visit Tehran and the ancient Iranian city of Shiraz, where the main Navrouz celebrations will take place this year.
According to the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe, heads of 20 countries that also celebrate this festival have been invited as well.
We will recall that Iranian media reported in February that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invited Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to celebrate Navrouz in Shiraz this year.
As it had been reported earlier, the United Nations General Assembly on February 23 this year recognized the International Day of Nowruz (In Tajik Navrouz), a spring festival of Persian origin. The Assembly called on Member States that celebrate the festival to study its history and traditions with a view to disseminating that knowledge among the international community and organizing annual commemoration events.
Bilateral and trilateral meetings of leaders of the Persian-speaking countries are expected to take place on the sidelines of the event. The sides will discuss a broad range of issues related to regional cooperation.
