The webinar called “Yalda, Regional Solidarity” was held on Saturday evening under the aegis of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Centre for Public and Media Diplomacy, the ECO Cultural Institute, Saadi Foundation, and Allameh Tabataba’i University, in order to commemorate the old festival of Yalda and highlight its role in solidarity among the regional people.
Several figures delivered speeches to the videoconference, including President of Saadi Foundation and the Academy of Persian Language and Literature Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of Centre for Public and Media Diplomacy Saeed Khatibzadeh, President of ECO Cultural Institute Sarvar Bakhti, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Iran Abdul Ghafoor Liwal, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to Iran Nizamuddin Zahedi, Ambassador of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to Iran Avazbek Abdurazakov, as well as faculty member of the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies and President of Iran Encyclopedia Compiling Research Centre Ahmad Pakatchi.
In his address to the webinar, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh highlighted the history of the ancient event and its role in convergence and peace among people of the region.
“The Yalda Night, aka Chelleh Night, has been regarded by Iranians as the night of light’s victory over darkness and a symbol of equality since ancient times,” he added.
The Iranian spokesperson also underlined that the cultural approach to the civilizational sphere of the regional countries has become growingly stronger, as these cultural elements are known as factors unifying the regional people.
The spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of Centre for Public and Media Diplomacy finally noted that the Yalda Night will be inscribed as a regional intangible cultural heritage on the UNESCO’s list next year.
