Khatibzadeh said there is a fundamental principle in diplomacy that says “Think globally and act locally,” adding that no phenomenon made us understand that how much our fates are interwoven and at the same time, how lonely we are in securing our health.
When the pandemic started, three theories were proposed: one, it is the end of globalization; two, the pandemic accelerates what is already happening, but no substantial changes will occur; and three, the pandemic will be over and will leave no effects, he said.
He went on to say that what is seen today is something intermediary. In several fields, changes are permanent, like untraditional communications in securing mental and physical health of the society named cyberspace.
He added that dialog is the base of diplomacy.
Thanking the Municipality of Tehran for holding the Fifth Golden Adobe Award, Khatibzadeh added that urban diplomacy is among the important grounds for dialog of civilizations and that participation of diplomats and representative of international organizations also proves it.
The ceremony was held in Tehran’s Milad Tower with the presence of Ali Rabiei, spokesman of the government; Pirouz Hanachi, the mayor of Tehran; Mohsen Hashemi, the head of the City Council; Khatibzadeh; and some ambassadors.
Maimunah Mohd Sharif; the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN‐Habitat); and Mohammad Saadeh; president of UCLG MEWA thanked Tehran for having held the event in separate video messages.
Claudio Providas, the UNDP Resident Representative in Iran was also among the speakers of the event.
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