Gholamali Haddad Adel addressed a meeting of the closing ceremony of short-term Persian language training sessions for Egyptian learners on Wednesday, where he said that Persian language would help Iran and Egypt get closer; “I hope that your visit to Iran satisfies you and the Foundation’s programs are very helpful for you; Iran and Egypt are two countries of long history in the Islamic world and have defended Islam with strong belief in its tenets, and contributed much to the advancement of the Islamic civilization,” Haddad Adel told the meeting, “Iranians and Egyptians have, through the history, had friendly relations; Iranians have seen Egyptians as their brethren, and this is a fact you may notice during your stay in Tehran by the hospitality of people and their generosity toward the foreign visitors,” he added.
Haddad Adel expressed hopes that one day the problems of the Islamic world would be solved; “what currently takes place in Islamic countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Libya is quite disturbing for us,” he said.
“We hope that these problems are solved very soon and Muslims see the days of happiness,” he wished.
Tehran’s representative to Parliament also said that Iran was under pressure of economic sanctions, which “was harshest in history;” “These sanctions hit Iran, since we have always sought to remain independent in the face of hegemonic powers; we want to decide about Iran in Tehran, not anywhere else, including Washington, London,” Haddad Adel said. “This nation is prepared to defend its independence,” added the head of Sa’adi Foundation.
“It is surprising that Persian language has been resilient in Egypt despite severing political relations since so long; I had been to Cairo 8 years ago to attend Inter-parliamentary Meeting of Islamic countries and found that 4,000 students in Egypt were learning Persian,” he said. “Here in Iran, we revered Arabic and many books have been published in Iran in Arabic; we welcome translating all works of Egyptian writers to open new corridors of thought between two nations,” Haddad proposed lavishly.
He closed his address with the belief that Iran and Egypt were two important Islamic countries, and the more they developed cordial relations and learned their fellow languages, the more they developed a strong family.
SH
MNA
END
IRN/81492990