Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has launched a festival for music videos to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRIB Music and Poetry Office announced on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference, the director of the office, Mohammad-Baqer Mo’allem, said that the event has been named “The Fajr National and International Music Video Festival”.

“Integrating music with imagery deepens its effects and this is the main reason for making a music video,” Mo’allem stated.

He said that the music video has turned into an artistic means to promote an issue and build a culture in the world, and added, “Unfortunately, the music video has not received the necessary attention in our country.”

He said the festival has been established to introduce young promising artists in the fields of music and imagery.

The festival, which is scheduled to be held during February 2019, has been organized to celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Revolutionary Thinking”, “The Cultural Impacts of the Islamic Revolution on the World”, “Neo-Colonialism” and “Resistance” are the main themes of the international competition.

Photo: IRIB Music and Poetry Office director Mohammad-Baqer Mo’allem attends a press conference on October 1, 2018 to elaborate on the Fajr National and International Music Video Festival. / Tehran times /

The UN Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (UNIATF) award went to the Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) Committee of Iran’s Ministry of Health for making an outstanding contribution to NCD prevention and control.

Deputy Director General of Programmes at the World Health Organization (WHO), Somia Swaminatan, has granted the award to the representative of the Non-Communicable Diseases Committee during the “Friends of the Task Force” meeting on the sidelines of the third High-level Meeting on NCDs at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 27, 2018, IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

UNIATF at its 10th meeting in Vienna in February 2018 initiated the UNIATF award to recognize those making an outstanding contribution to NCD prevention and control.

The UNIATF awards are issued to individuals or groups of individuals for achievements in the area of multisector action in the prevention and control of NCDs for getting countries on the right trajectories in achieving NCD-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Due to the efforts made over the past 40 to 50 years on improvement of the quality of fresh water, roads, education, electricity and health services, Iran is among the countries where trachoma is eradicated.In line with WHO’s activities to combat NCDs, in 2015, a committee has been stablished in Iran called National Non-Communicable Disease Committee at the Ministry of Health headed by the Health Minister, Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi. There are six subcommittees affiliated with this committee responsible for controlling cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, air pollution and inter-sectoral collaboration, traffic injuries, and a subcommittee for monitoring and evaluating whole action plan for the NCDs in Iran.

The national plan to combat NCDs was endorsed by President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, the then Director-General of WHO Margaret Chan Fung Fu-Chun and WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Ala Alwan, which was also appreciated by other countries due to not being limited to one ministry and sector but to other sectors as well.

Iranian health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi has stated that while some 80 percent of deaths in the world are related to NCDs, the measures taken by Iran to reduce the burden of cancer, heart and lung diseases, and diabetes have been taken worldwide.

Hashemi went on to say that “we hope that the action plans can be also applied into practice by the public because prevention of these diseases first and foremost depends on a person’s will, and then the administration and the parliament should also play their part.”
Moreover, an important measure Iran has taken on the eradication of trachoma (the leading infectious cause of blindness), has also been endorsed by the WHO, he further highlighted.

According to the WHO trachoma is a disease of the eye caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is known to be a public health problem in 41 countries, and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. In 2016, 190.2 million people lived in trachoma endemic areas and were at risk of trachoma blindness.

“Due to the efforts made over the past 40 to 50 years on improvement of the quality of fresh water, roads, education, electricity and health services, Iran is among the countries where trachoma is eradicated,” he concluded. / Tehran times /

Iranian ministry of agriculture and Turkey’s ministry of agriculture and forestry inked three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on Wednesday for cooperation in various fields, IRNA reported.

Covering different areas including veterinary, beekeeping and forestry, the agreements were signed during the seventh meeting of the Strategic Committee for Agricultural Cooperation between the two countries in Tehran.

Iran’s Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati and his Turkish counterpart Bekir Pakdemirli were also present in the meeting.

Speaking in the meeting, Hojjati noted that [with this agreements] “the roadmap for agricultural cooperation between the two countries has been drawn” and the two sides can collaborate in various areas including controlling livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza.

The Iranian official also expressed his ministry’s interest in preferential trade with the Turkish side.

Hojjati also called for further cooperation with Turkey on the production, marketing and sale of medicinal herbs and the development of forests.

According to Iran’s embassy in Turkey, the two countries’ trade in the first half of 2018 was near $5.2 billion of which $3.8 billion was related to Iran’s exports to Turkey and $1.4 billion was the share of Turkey’s exports to Iran.

The two countries have it on agenda to increase the level of mutual trade to $30 billion in the near future./ Tehran times /

The head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) says the number of foreign tourists visiting the country surged 51% in the first six months of the current fiscal year (started on March 21) in comparison with similar period last year.

According to Ali Asghar Mounesan, the surge comes despite the decline in the number of inbound tourists in first six months of the past year.

Data released by ICHHTO, shows that 2,619,310 foreign tourists entered the country in the first half of last year, down from 2,701,859 the year before.

However, last year’s collective number of tourists shows a slight growth. A total of 5,113,524 foreign tourists traveled to Iran in the last Iranian year, showing a 4.33% increase year on year.

Implicating the depreciation of the rial’s value to dollar, the official noted that Iran has become a considerably cheap destination for foreign visitors.

Therefore, the growth in tourism is expected to rise through the current year, Mounesan added. / MNA /

Iranian drama ‘3 Faces’ directed by Jafar Panahi has won the Best Film award at the 55th Antalya Film Festival in Turkey.

Starring Behnaz Jafari and Panahi as themselves, ‘3 Faces’ won the Best Film award at the 55th edition of Antalya Film Festival in Turkey. Panahi’s daughter received the award on his behalf at the award ceremony hosted by Antalya’s municipality on Friday night.

‘3 Faces’ won the best film award in competition with nine other international titles and two Turkish ones.

Panahi’s film, co-written with Nader Saeivar, had won the award for Best Screenplay at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

The 55th Antalya Film Festival was opened on Sep. 29 with the screening of ‘Everybody Knows’ directed by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

The festival wrapped up on Oct. 5, with a screening program from 84 applications from a total of 26 countries including Turkey, Russia, China, Iran, Lebanon, Ukraine, Germany, the UK, Ireland, etc.

Given Turkey’s status as the host to over four million refugees, Antalya festival had chosen ‘human’ as the main theme of this year’s screening program. / MNA/

Outgoing Iranian ambassador Dr Abbas Vaezi Dehnavi   called on President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Sunday.

President’s press secretary Joynal Abedin briefed after the meeting “The President said Bangladesh has an excellent bilateral relation with Iran.”

Referring to cordial support of Iranian government on Rohingya issue, President Hamid expressed his gratitude to the people and government of Iran.

The head of the state Hamid said Bangladesh and Iran extended mutual support and cooperation to each other in different regional and international forums.

The outgoing Iranian envoy lauded the overall development and progress, especially, in ensuring the women empowerment in Bangladesh.

The envoy also praised the time-befitting role of Bangladesh in giving shelter to the forcibly displaced Rohingya people.

He also thanked the President for his cooperation during his assignment here.

Latest trade figures show that China, Iraq, the UAE, Afghanistan and India were respectively Iran’s top export destinations in the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 21- Sep 22).

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, China was the main buyer of Iranian goods in the period, as the Asian country imported over 13.7 million tons of Iranian products worth $4.633 billion.

The trade figures constitute 24.19% and 20.04% of Iran’s total exports in terms of weight value, respectively, in the six-month period.

Iraq was the second largest costumer of Iranian products, as the Islamic Republic exported some 9.618 million tons of goods worth $4.546 billion to the neighboring country in the six-month period. Iraq had a 16.98% and 19.74% share in Iran’s exports in terms of volume and value.

Other top destinations included the United Arab Emirates with 8.98 million tons of goods worth $4.63 billion, Afghanistan with 3.23 million tons worth around $1.67 billion, and India with close to 4.81 million tons of goods worth over $1.25 billion./MNA/

Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to Iran Avazbek Abdurazakov said on Sunday that trade ties between Tehran and Bishkek have grown by 12% this year.
Iran-Kyrgyzstan trade ties grow by 12%
Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the ambassador said that the value of trade between the two countries stood at $60 million.

‘Some 68 percent of the trade exchanges between the two countries are Iran’s exports to Kyrgyzstan,’ Abdurazakov said.

Noting that the most important challenge in the way of trade between Iran and Kyrgyzstan is the lack of direct flights between the two countries, the Kyrgyz envoy said that this slows trade relations between Tehran and Bishkek and should be resolved.

He called for Iran’s investment in all economic areas of Kyrgyzstan, including agriculture, industry, and culture.

Abdurazakov said that his country is seeking ways to promote ways for cooperation and more enhanced relations with Iran.