Mayor Hadžibajrić Receives Delegation from Tabriz, Iran

On the occasion of the traditional event "Days of Iran", organized by the Iranian Cultural Center, a delegation from the Iranian city of Tabriz, led by the Deputy Mayor of Tabriz, Ahmad Hamidij, is visiting Sarajevo.

The delegation also includes Dr. Mahdi Mohammadzadeh, Pro-Rector at the University of Islamic Arts in this city, and Mehdi Hassankhani, Director General of Cultural and Artistic Cooperation of Tabriz. They were received today by the Mayor of Stari Grad Municipality, Mr. Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, and the visit was also attended by the Cultural Consul at the Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Ameri.

Ties between the Municipality of Stari Grad and municipalities and cities in Iran were established back in 2015, during the official visit of Mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić to that country, at the invitation of the Iranian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As stated at today's meeting, it was precisely then that significant progress began in the diplomacy of cities and municipalities of these two countries, opening doors for cooperation. Shortly thereafter, an invitation for twinning came from the Municipality of 12 Cities of Tehran, and the agreement was officially signed in April last year. According to Mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, discussions are underway on the implementation of a joint project between these two municipalities – the construction of an observatory in Stari Grad, modeled after the one in Tehran.

Twinning with a Municipality from Tabriz Announced

During today's meeting, the possibility of continuing the twinning of Stari Grad with cities and municipalities in Iran, specifically in the city of Tabriz, was discussed.

- Municipality 8 in Tabriz is the oldest municipality and is therefore most similar to Stari Grad. We will undertake activities to twin these municipalities and hope to complete the entire procedure in a few months, and then discuss concrete cooperation - said the Deputy Mayor of Tabriz, Ahmad Hamidi.

He extended an invitation to artists and artisans from Sarajevo to come to Tabriz, showcase their works, and establish cooperation with artists and entrepreneurs in that city.

Mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić congratulated the organizers on the start of another successful event, "Days of Iran", stating that he is pleased that it is being held this year in such an eminent venue as the City Hall.

- You deserve to hold your programs in such a space for two reasons. The first is that you are true friends of this country, and the second reason is that you nurture a culture and tradition that we, nor the whole of Europe, can ever match. We measure our tradition hundreds of years back, while yours goes back thousands of years, making you undisputed - Hadžibajrić said.

Tabriz is one of the largest and oldest Iranian cities. It is the capital of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan and has 1.6 million inhabitants. The city of Tabriz has a history of 4,000 years, during which it was the capital of Iran three times. It is also known as a city of science and universities, with over 200,000 students. The first university in Tabriz was opened 800 years ago, during the flourishing of Islamic culture and science. For three consecutive years, it has been declared the cleanest city in Iran, which, through various projects with the non-governmental sector, has managed to remove all homeless people and addicts from the streets.