Moscow, Sept 2, IRNA -- Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati on Wednesday held talks with Chairman of Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin on ways to expand cultural cooperation.

Naryshkin said at the inaugural ceremony of the Moscow International Book Fair that the Russian Federation is eager to expand relations with Iran in the fields of culture and literature in light of rich background of the two nations.

Jannati said in remarks to the ceremony that the Islamic Republic of Iran is willing to develop cultural relations with the Russian Federation in line with the excellent political relations.

He said participation in the book fairs is of high importance with regards to chronology of bilateral relations.
Jannati, as Iranian guest of honor, and Naryshkin opened the fair (September 2-6).

The Iranian delegation including a number of officials, scholars, writers, artists, cultural figures and publishers will be displaying books and cultural programs at the fair.
Meanwhile, Moscow will also be hosting Tehran�s Cultural Festival during the four-day book fair.

Thousands of three-dimensional photos introducing Tehran with Russian captions will go on show in an exhibit prepared for cartoons.

The Moscow International Book Fair (MISBF), is the major and most representative international book forum in Russia, and the most significant annual event for the Russian book industry.

MIBF is a close reflection of the up-to-date status of the book industry and works as a kind of a mirror for this dynamic sector of the Russian economy.

The fair welcomes every year book specialists from dozens of countries of the world and representatives of Russian companies. And the annual display is a powerful marketing tool of the book industry to study vital tendencies of the publishers, strengthen traditional contacts and develop new ones with Russian and international companies and sign contracts.

By IRNA