“We are eager for the presence of Indian writers and cultural figures in Iran so that contemporary Indian literature can be better introduced to the literary community of Iran,” he added.

India will be the special guest at this year’s TIBF, which is scheduled to take place from May 8 to May 18 at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla (prayer ground) in central Tehran.

“Proposals for the translation of a number of Indian works into Persian have been presented to us and we are currently examining them. We will also offer suggestions for translating Iranian works into Hindi,” Ahmadvand noted. “We hope that in addition to the official pavilion of India at the fair, Indian publishers will also take part in the international section of the fair as Iranian people are interested in getting to know about Indian publications”.

He expressed optimism that cultural exchanges between Iran and India will increase with support and collaboration from their respective cultural advocates.

For his part, the Indian ambassador stated that there was no limit to increasing the capacity of cultural activities between Iran and India and said: “There are thousands of years of interactions between Iran and India and we can see its impact in Indian culture from clothes to food. In other words, a shadow of the influence of Iranian culture on Indian culture can be seen. Most Indians’ image of Iran is an aesthetic image of architecture, poetry, literature, etc. of this country. This influence is always seen in the development of Indian civilization. In India, the Persian language is considered among the 9 classical languages ​​of the country and we do not consider it a foreign language”.

Regarding the presence of India as the special guest in the upcoming edition of the Tehran International Book Fair, Shresth said: “We should not miss this opportunity as the young generation is less aware of the strong connection between the two countries. Attending the book fair will guarantee cultural communication in the future.

“We are very excited to participate in the fair as a special guest. India is Iran’s brother in the field of literature and this cultural relationship should be conveyed to the people of the two countries,” he added.

Iran will also be a distinguished guest at the New Delhi International Book Fair in 2025, according to a cultural memorandum of understanding that was signed earlier this year by representatives of the Tehran International Book Fair and the New Delhi World Book Fair.

Referring to the programs proposed by the Indian pavilion during the 35th TIBF, Shresth said: “We will select a number of classic books from Iranian and Indian authors and publishers for translation and unveil them during Iran’s presence at the New Delhi World Book Fair. Iranian writers can also attend the book fair in New Delhi and interact with Indian authors and publishers. Indian people are familiar with Hafez, Rumi, Saadi, etc., but they do not know much about the works of contemporary Iranian writers”.

In the end, Shrestth said: “I hope the presence of Iran and India in the book exhibitions of the two countries will bring about good results in the field of cultural interactions. We are looking forward to Iran’s presence in the next edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair and I hope this presence will lead to the reproduction of the existing interest in literature in both countries”.

After 34 editions in a succession, the TIBF—Iran’s largest book trade show—has evolved into a historic, significant book fair in West Asia. Each year, millions of people visit the fair, thousands of them being university students, scholars, and their families.

At the moment, the cultural event is Iran’s most important cultural event. The historic event is attended by approximately 2,500 local and 600 international publishers on average. The overseas publishers primarily provide their content in English or Arabic, but they also have publications available in French, German, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.