** IRAN DAILY
-- Raisi to attend 7th GECF summit
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi will take part in the 7th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, on March 2, announced Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs and Trade Ahmad Asadzadeh on Saturday.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Raisi will deliver a speech at the summit to raise Iran’s stances on strategies and policies of GECF for safeguarding its member states’ interests, promoting their cooperation on the natural gas industry’s development and its role in providing energy security, and investing more in the sector, the deputy oil minister continued.
-- Iran-Qatar Cooperation Committee convenes in Doha
The Sixth Iran-Qatar Joint Cooperation Committee meeting convened between Iran’s Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare and Qatar’s Ministry of Labor in Doha.
It set the stage for a new era in technical and professional cooperation as discussions deeply rooted in the shared vision of facilitating skilled Iranian labor and engineers to Qatar.
-- Iran’s 11-month trade with neighbors tops $55b: Official
The volume of Iran’s trade exchanges with its 15 neighboring countries increased by 2.5% in past 11 months by reaching $55.27 billion, the director general of Iran’s Customs Administration announced.
“A total of $25.84 billion pertained to exports and $29.43 billion pertained to imports from Iran’s total trade exchanges with its neighboring countries,” Mohammad Rezvanifar said.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Envoy: Iran Obliged to Prevent Ukraine War Escalation
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations has categorically refuted Western media accusations that the Islamic Republic provides ballistic missiles to Russia in its long-running war with Ukraine, saying Tehran is morally bound to avoid fueling the Moscow-Kiev conflict.
The dismissal came after Reuters cited “six sources” as claiming that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic weapons amid deepening military cooperation between the two strategic partners.
-- IRGC Chief: We Believe in Victory of Resistance
The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Iran believes in the Palestinian resistance’s victory against the Zionist regime which is waging a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.
“Today, we’re witnessing the enemies’ crimes in Palestine,” Major General Hussein Salami said during an event in the north-central holy city of Qom on Saturday.
“They are seeking to attain victory for themselves by killing children, women, and defenseless people,” he added.
-- IRICA: 10 Countries Account for 84% of Iran’s Foreign Trade
The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said that China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Iraq, India, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Oman, Germany and Afghanistan made up 84 percent of Iran’s total foreign trade value in 11 months.
Of Iran’s total foreign trade, 136.64 million tons of goods, valued at $88.441 billion, were exchanged with the aforementioned 10 countries in the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2023, to February 22, 2024), the report added.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Intl. resistance music conference proposes joint orchestra formation
The second edition of an international conference focused on exploring the realm of resistance music concluded with a proposal to establish a common orchestra among artists from countries in the axis of resistance. The conference was held at Tehran University on Saturday, with the presence of several professors, researchers, and musicians from both domestic and foreign countries in the Islamic and North African resistance axis, Mehr reported on Sunday.
During the meeting, Iranian musician Shahrouz Haqqi presented a proposal, suggesting the formation of an orchestra consisting of artists from countries within the resistance bloc.
-- Deputy minister calls for formation of union among Persian-speaking nations
Ali Darabi, Iran’s deputy tourism minister of cultural heritage and tourism, has called for the establishment of a union dedicated to Persian-speaking countries. Speaking at a cultural event dedicated to Iran and Tajikistan on Friday, Darabi highlighted the importance of forming a “Union of Persian-speaking Countries.”
The official expressed hope for the establishment of this union, mentioning the deep shared linguistic and cultural roots between Persian-speaking nations and between Iran and Tajikistan in particular.
-- Iranian film “The Great Yawn of History” grabs award at 74th Berlinale
The Iranian film “The Great Yawn of History” written, directed, and produced by Aliyar Rasti won the Special Jury Award of the Encounters Competition Section of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, jointly with “Some Rain Must Fall” by Qiu Yang from China on February 24.
It was a big win for Rasti’s debut feature film, which had its world premiere at the Berlinale 2024 too.
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