ISLAMABAD: The 13-day new year’s festival of Nowruz kicked off on Thursday worldwide, including West Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, India and Pakistan.
The Persian New Year festival has a 3,000-year history. It is celebrated every year on the first day of spring, March 21, by some 300 million people featuring unique traditions and customs of particular regions and civilizations.
Through values of peace, solidarity, neighborliness, reconciliation, and mutual respect, the Nowruz festival strengthens relations among communities encouraging acceptance of cultural understanding and diversity.
In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a resolution moved by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan declaring March 21 as the ‘International Day of Nowruz’ to foster closer relations among nations.
A United Nations post on its Twitter handle said: “As we celebrate the Nowruz festival, let us choose compassion and hope, embrace the opportunities that await and work together to build a more inclusive, more peaceful, and more sustainable world for all.”
https://twitter.com/UN/status/1638056406996905984/photo/1
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his statement regarding Nowruz, said: “Nowruz marks new beginnings. It is the arrival of spring and the rebirth of nature. For more than 300 million people around the world, it is a time for family and friends to come together, reflect on the past and look forward to a brighter future. May this Nowruz bring you joy, good health and prosperity.”
Google also released a floral doodle in honour of Nowruz.
President greets Iranian counterpart, people on Nowruz
President Dr Arif Alvi extended greetings to his Iranian counterpart Syed Ebrahim Raisi, the government and the Iranian people on the occasion of Nowruz.
“On the happiest occasion of Nowruz, I extend my sincere greetings to Syed Ebrahim Raisi, the brotherly people and the government of Iran,” he stated in a tweet.
President Alvi conveyed his best wishes for peace and continued prosperity in Iran and for ever-closer cooperation between Pakistan and Iran across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations.
