Baghdad, March 26: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has arrived in Tehran to attend a ceremony celebrating Nowruz which marks the beginning of the New Year in Iran.
Iran is hosting senior officials from 20 countries at the International Nowruz Celebrations. High-ranking officials from the Persian-speaking states of Tajikistan and Afghanistan will join representatives from the countries that celebrate Nowruz such as Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Albania, and Turkey.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, heading a high-ranking delegation, also arrived in Tehran earlier on Saturday to take part in the ceremony.
The officials attending the ceremony will meet with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran first organized the International Nowruz Celebrations after the International Day of Nowruz was registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on February 23, 2010.
The second edition of Iran’s international Nowruz festivities will be held from March 26-28, 2011, Mehr News Agency reported.
—-Agencies