DUSHANBE, 06.01.2020. (NIAT Khovar) –Representative of Tajikistan Sarvar Bakhti has been appointed to the post of President of the Economic Cooperation Organization Cultural Institute.

Bakhti was officially inaugurated during a ceremony held on December 30, 2019 at ECI headquarters. Present at the ceremony were political and cultural officials of the host country, ambassadors and representatives of various diplomatic missions stationed in Tehran as well as artists, intellectuals and cultural figures.

Dr. Asharf Boroujerdi, the director of Iran’s National Library and Archives and deputy president, Gholamreza Ansari, deputy Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Economic Diplomacy, Hadi Soleimanpour, ECO Secretary General, Seyed Yahya Akhlaghi, Deputy ECO Secretary General, Ghorban Ali Pourmarjan, deputy chairman of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization for the

Development of International Affairs, Nizamuddin Zahedi, Ambassador of Tajikistan, Abdul Ghafoor Liwal, Ambassador of Afghanistan, Dr. Derya Örs, Ambassador of Turkey and representatives from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Russia, Kyrgyz Republic and China.

Other participants of the event included representatives of different cultural organizations such as the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Iranian Academy of Arts, Academy of Persian Language and Literature, the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, Iran and Tajikistan Friendship Association, Islamic Development Organization, Asian Mayors Forum and some universities.
Bakhti spoke about the necessity of putting effort toward encouraging non-ratifying ECO member states to join the ECI as full members. He then highlighted the importance of developing tourism, organization of conferences and workshops to promote the rich cultural legacy of the region as the most important activities on the agenda during his term of service.