A hearty welcome to President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Let his three-day sojourn in our proud and tradition-rich country bring to him a sense of satisfaction. And for our two nations let it open new vistas of co-operation. We are truly honoured by the Iranian President's visit.

We value our friendship with Iran for many reasons. The Khomeini revolution did not only put an end to Pahlavi autocracy, it also provided. very courageously indeed, a limiting factor for the apparently unchallengeable Western predilection for big brothership. And so added significantly to the sustainability of the world order, however, defective it maybe. Together with this Iran has been a bulwark for Islamic values.

We had very close cultural and historical ties with Iran. Persian was cultivated in Bengal of the Sultans as has not been done outside central Asia. The great mystic and poet Hafiz almost came to visit Bengal but for a last-minute travel hitch. The Bengali mind was once replete with the glories and wisdoms of the times of Nowsherwan as it was occupied with the epigrams of Gulistan, Bustan and Pandnama. Rumi and Jami and Khaqani are as living a legacy of the Bengalees as they are of the Iranians and other central Asians. It is not for nothing that Rabindranath, in his twilight years, went to Iran and anointed his soul with the fragrance of Persian poetry and ecstasy of Persian mysticism. Firdausi and his ponderous epic were such a household companion that many here took Rustam and Sohrab for their national heroes.

President Rafsanjani's visit is designed to initiate, among other things, the opening of the states of central Asia to Bangladeshi goods and manpower. A bonus, outside of the five projected MOUs, that should accrue from this visit will be the broadening of Bangladesh's cultural horizon to those dream climes.

Iran is the seat of one of the most ancient civilisations. And yet it is a modern and truly progressing country. We shall gain positively from the fillip to our old friendship that President Rafsanjani's visit will occasion. We shall exercise ceaselessly to ensure that Iran also gains from this in equal measure.