Minister of Culture Ali Jannati and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, as well as a number of publishers, media members and country’s officials were present at the opening ceremony.
Tehran International Book Fair is set to display domestic and foreign books from May 4 for 11 days.
This year, the book fair has chosen ‘Tomorrow Is Too Late to Read’ as the motto for its 29th edition.
To see photos of the newly opened, purpose-built exhibition site, Shahr-e Aftab, click here.
Making remarks during a joint news conference with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, Park Geun-hye said on Monday that she called for Iran’s cooperation in the faithful enforcement of UN sanctions resolutions against North Korea that were imposed after Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year.
Park and Rouhani observed the signing of 20 out of 66 MOUs after their meeting, the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1962.
Cheong Wa Dae, from South Korea’s presidential office, described the MOUs as major economic accomplishments.
An Chong-bum, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said the MOUs could help South Korea boost bilateral trade.
The trade volume between Korea and Iran stood at $6.1bn in 2015, compared with $17.4bn in 2011.
Iran, which has 80 million people, has emerged as a promising market as it is pushing to rebuild an economy and modernize railways and other major infrastructure following the lifting of international sanctions earlier this year.
The UN lifted sanctions on Iran in a follow-up to a nuclear deal reached with the United States and five world powers over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
More than 230 South Korean business executives and leaders have accompanied the president on her state visit to the Islamic Republic to explore new business opportunities.
A South Korean company signed a preliminary deal with its Iranian counterpart worth $5.3bn to build a 541km-long track bed for a railway.
Cheong Wa Dae said the preliminary deal could boost the chance of inking a formal deal further down the line.
The MOUs also include a $10bn project by a South Korean consortium to build facilities to produce heavy oil in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Jask.
This first round of political talks, launched on Monday, was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers.
Iran was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi, while France sent Christian Masset, Secretary General of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.
During the talks, Takht Ravanchi voiced Iran’s readiness to cooperate with France in diverse fields of foreign policy, and on regional issues.
He also pointed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), calling on the other side to honour commitments to the accord to see its tangible results.
For his part, the visiting French diplomat said France favours enhanced relations with Iran, given its rich history and regional influence.
Referring to France’s familiarity with Iran’s views on the regional crises, Masset stressed the need for cooperation between Paris and Tehran to tackle regional problems, such as the fight against terrorism.
According to an agreement signed in January, the Foreign Ministries of Iran and France are scheduled to hold regular political negotiations.
The International Conference on Urban Economy is organized by (IUESA). The event is to be held in Tehran on May 19 with the participation of a large number of prominent Iranian and foreign figures.
“Cities are both sources and destinations of tourism,” Zarandi said, adding that the share of urban tourism from international tourism is increasing.
“City managers are gradually moving towards the improvement of urban tourism infrastructure due to its revenue attractions,” said the official.
Emphasizing that tourism is considered as one of the most profitable industries in the world, Zarandi further noted the total number of tourists globally were 20 million people in 1950, 438m in 1980, 880m in 2012, and more than one billion in 2012. It is estimated that this total will reach 1.6bn people by 2020.
The official hoped a process can be defined so that city management can take advantage of tourism revenues.
The conference will be held to mark the 400th Anniversary of the Transition Theory, first introduced by Galileo, Rastegari told IRNA on May 2.
He said that the event will be held in cooperation with the Astronomical Society of Iran, Yazd University and Pardis University of Mehriz.
The conference will be held with attendance from domestic and international astronomy professors from May 8-9 in Pardis University of Mehriz.
Rastegari explained that there are two higher educational centers in Mehriz, in which over 2,000 male and female students study. Mehriz town is located 30km from Yazd.
Germany has begun working closely with Iran to develop renewable energy strategies based on the successes and failures its policymakers have learned from its own Energiewende (energy transition), Power Magazine reported on Sunday.
Germany’s government recently released a commissioned report titled “Enabling PV Iran,” which discusses the opportunities offered by the Iranian photovoltaic (PV) market.
Funded by the German Foreign Office and written by the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar) in cooperation with the consulting firm Eclareon, the Iran-Wind Group, and Pflüger International, the 135-page study aims to establish cooperation with Iranian solar associations.
The preliminary results were presented in Tehran in December, and the full report was released this March.
“The political will in Iran to realize success in this market is abundantly clear,” said report author and BSW-Solar head Joerg Mayer.
He added that “What counts now for German firms is the speed and determination to build business relations” with Iran.
Iran, with its power generation capacity of 70 GW, has incredible renewable energy potential, with its wind capacity alone estimated at 30 GW.
“The relations between Iran and South Korea must not hinge upon sanctions and must not be affected by the US influence and malice, rather the communications between the two countries must be sustainable, stable, strong and cordial’,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with the visiting South Korean President, Park Geun-Hye, in Tehran on Monday.
“Such memoranda of understanding and contracts should be struck between the two countries that foreign factors and sanctions could not adversely affect them,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic maintains a positive view towards Asian nations, adding that Iran and South Korea will both benefit from sustainable ties.
“We believe that there is a greater prospect for understanding, agreement and cooperation with these [Asian] countries including South Korea which is among the advanced Asian countries,” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also highlighted security challenges prevailing in the Middle East region and the world, saying: “If terrorism and insecurity are not tackled realistically and properly, countering them will become more difficult in the future and no country will be immune to this danger.”
The Leader dismissed Washington’s dichotomy of terrorism into “good” and “bad” categories, saying: “The US is chanting the slogan of combating terrorism, but it does not behave sincerely in practice while terrorism in any form is bad and is dangerous to nations and security of countries because without security, favorable progress will not take place.”
For her part, Park said Ayatollah Khamenei’s insistence on Iran’s economic, scientific and industrial development heralds a very good future for the country.
She said that her ground-breaking visit to Tehran provides a valuable opportunity for better ties between Iran and South Korea and will strengthen mutual confidence.
The South Korean president arrived in the Iranian capital on Sunday for a three-day official visit to discuss ways to strengthen political and economic relations between the two countries.
Earlier on Monday, Park held talks with her Iranian counterpart, the first meeting between the two countries’ presidents since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1962.
He made the remarks on Sunday May 1, during a press conference held after a visit by journalists to the fairground, which will host to the 29th edition of the cultural exhibition from May 5 to 15.
He regarded Shahr-e Aftab, covering an area of more than 300,000 hectares, as a good and suitable location for the fair.
“It is a good place for a big cultural event, and the fairground itself will be launched with the opening of the book fair,” he added.
“From now on, Tehran’s citizens will possess a city of culture and books,” he said, adding that the officials are well aware of the current deficiencies of the fairground and that they will do their best to remove these obstacles in the coming days.
He further noted that after all these years, the Tehran Book Fair is proud to have finally become a landowner, having found its own permanent space.
Salehi explained that, based on the agreement with Tehran Municipality, the fairground has been dedicated to the book fair for the next ten years.
“The location has been constructed specifically for the fair, and we are happy that when the fair ends on May 15 this year, we will be able to begin planning for the next edition of the fair right away. In previous years, we were never about the location of the next fair,” Salehi explained.
Iran Cultural Fairs Institute Director, Amir-Masud Shahramnia, also present at the conference, said that the construction had gone well.
He added that there are good number of buses and taxis situated in major city squares which will carry passengers to the fairground, while Tehran’s Metro Line 1 will also take passengers directly to the venue.
“Russia is the guest country this year, and will be attending with large numbers of officials and writers, some of whom will arrive in Tehran today. Officials from the former guest countries of Oman and Italy will also attend the fair again this year,” he asserted.
There are also several more officials, publishers and writers who will be visiting the fair, from different countries such as Kuwait, Algeria, Germany, Spain and India, he concluded.
This photo gallery, courtesy of Tasnim, gives an idea of the size and scale of the exhibition centre, located to the south of Tehran.
Shahre-Aftab (Sun City) Complex, a newly-constructed fairground in Southern Tehran, will host the 29th edition of the Tehran International Book Fair on May 4-14.
The antimony plant kicked off operations in the presence of the Iranian Deputy Industry Minister Mehdi Karbasian, the report said.
It has the capacity of producing 300kg of antimony ingots per day.
China, Russia, Bolivia, Australia, South Africa, Tajikistan, Mexico, and the United States are the other world producers of antimony ingots.
Antimony ingots are mainly used in high-tech, electronics, aerospace, and chemical industries. Its trioxide is used in making flame-proofing compounds. Three other applications make up nearly all the rest of the consumption. One of these uses is as a stabilizer and a catalyst for the production of polyethylene terephthalate. Another application is to serve as a fining agent to remove microscopic bubbles in glass, mostly for TV screens. The third major application is the use as pigment.
© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
