Iranian Cultural Link Passage inaugurated

 HERITAGE MUSEUM

Islamabad

A colourful ceremony to inaugurate the Iranian Cultural Link Passage at Heritage Museum was held on Friday.

The event was held under the aegis of the Cultural Consulate of the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran in collaboration with the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa). A large of people from different walks of life including diplomats, media persons and high ranking government officials attended the event.

Ambassador Islamic Republic of Iran Mehdi-e-Honar Doost was the chief guest on the occasion. Joint Secretary Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Zahoor Ahmad Barlas, Cultural Counsellor of the Iran Embassy Shahaboddin Daraei and Executive Director, Lok Virsa Dr. Fouzia Saeed were also present on the occasion.

The special features included ribbon cutting ceremony performed in front of Iranian Link Passage at Heritage Museum, presentation of folk musical performances and mystic songs.

In his address, Iranian Ambassador Mehdi-e-Honar Doost congratulated all stakeholders who actualised the project and expressed the hope that this will create a better understanding among the people of Pakistan about the cultural heritage of Iran. “Pakistan is a cradle of history, culture and art which have been beautifully showcased in the Heritage Museum,” he said.

Earlier in her welcome remarks, Dr. Fouzia Saeed, Executive Director, Lok Virsa, said Heritage Museum was established in the year 2004 as the first state museum of ethnology in Pakistan depicting living cultural heritage presented through three-dimensional creative manner.

“Apart from documenting and preserving the indigenous folk culture of the whole Pakistan, the museum also projects cultures of other friendly and brotherly countries that share similarities and influences with the culture of Pakistan which include Iran. The Iranian link passage was created at the time of the inception of the museum, which has now been redesigned, improved and renovated by the Iranian Cultural Consulate in collaboration with Lok Virsa,” she said.

Cultural Counsellor of the Iran Embassy Shahaboddin Daraei, also spoke on the occasion and shed light on the objectives for establishing the cultural corner. The Iranian link passage is now open for public visit at the Lok Virsa Heritage Museum, Shakarparian.