ST PETERSBURG — Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi has used the 12th St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum to propose an expansion of cultural exchange with Russia and other participating countries, including reciprocal cultural weeks, increased Iranology programs and greater movement of artists, scholars and cultural figures between countries.
The forum, held from 24 to 26 September 2026 under the theme “United Cultures, Common Values,” brought together cultural officials, artists and experts from dozens of countries. 
The official forum program was organized around ten thematic areas, including cultural heritage, museums, cinema, music, theatre, media culture, cultural sovereignty and the impact of new technologies and artificial intelligence on culture.
Addressing the plenary session, Salehi presented Iranian culture as a living and evolving tradition rather than a static heritage object. He placed particular emphasis on Persian language and literature, referring to Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, as well as the poetry of Rumi, Hafez and Saadi, as cultural resources capable of contributing to international dialogue.
He also described Iran’s “civilizational resilience”—the capacity to absorb, reinterpret and transform outside influences while maintaining cultural continuity. His remarks connected the concept to Iran’s experience of recent war of aggression, including damage that was sustained by historical and cultural sites. 
For Salehi, cultural diplomacy offers another way of presenting Iran internationally. He cited Iran’s extensive UNESCO heritage record and stated that monuments, crafts, architecture and literature can function as forms of cultural communication beyond conventional political narratives.
His proposals at the forum centered on three areas. First was the expansion of cultural weeks between Iran, Russia and other participating countries. 
Salehi pointed to Russia’s recent cultural programs in Iran and announced that Iran’s own cultural program in Russia would extend across Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan and Astrakhan, including exhibitions, cinema, music, specialist forums and other cultural activities.
Second, Salehi invited artists, filmmakers, scholars and senior cultural figures from participating countries to visit Iran, stating that direct encounters could provide an alternative to mediated representations of the country.
His third proposal concerned the expansion of Iranology programs and academic cooperation. He called for more sustained links between Iranian and international Iranologists and suggested joint research structures as a means of developing scholarly exchange.
The proposals come within a broader program of cultural cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. The two countries agreed in 2025 to organize an Iranian Cultural Week in Russia in 2026, following discussions between Salehi and Russia’s Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova.
During the St Petersburg forum, Salehi also met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who chaired the forum’s organizing committee and discussed the expansion of bilateral cultural and artistic cooperation.
The Russian forum itself has been held since 2012 and is organized by the Roscongress Foundation, with the support of the Russian government, the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Administration of St Petersburg. 
For its 2026 edition, the organizers reported participation from more than 50 countries, with official figures for the previous year recording 70 countries and 2,468 participants.