Opening Quran recitation by brother Yusuf Rida from Al-Mustafa Islamic College Kyengera

Dr. Rouhollah Dehghani, the principal of Al-Mustafa Islamic College recognized invited guests and participants to the Iranology seminar which was organized by the Cultural Consulate of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He called upon different members of the diplomatic Corps to come and host various academic and cultural programs that help scholars and researchers to explore knowledge and wisdom to building resilience and patriotism.

He informed participants that Iranian civilization comes far away from the Persian empire about 10,000 years ago.

He noted that such important seminars bring about Awakening of intellectual talents in artificial intelligence, socioeconomic transformation and increasing demand for research.

Mrs Esther Nankinga, the Managing director of Mugalabi Technical Ventures Africa gave her experience about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

She rallied Ugandans to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran because Iran has alot to offer in terms of culture and traditions, education, tourism and trade.

She recalled the hospitality of the Iranian people who welcome visitors from different countries.

‘’It's an honor to stand before you and share my experience and knowledge of the beautiful country The Islamic Republic of Iran’’, she noted.

‘’Iran is a country with a cultural heritage spanning thousands of years with historical contributions to art, science, and philosophy’’, she added.

Beyond its cultural and intellectual achievements, ran is blessed with a beautiful and diverse landscape from majestic mountains to lush forests and beautiful coastlines along the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf

Its cities are a fusion of modernity and tradition, offering a unique blend of experiences for visitors.

The people of Iran are so welcoming, respectful, polite and treat visitors with kindness

Due to propaganda and unfair sanctions, Iran has had limited business relationships on the global stage, but this has not Stopped Iran. Iran has been self-sufficient for decades and has managed to develop various industries and sectors within the country. I Believe the world is ready for Iran and Iran is ready for the world. We as Uganda are looking forward to not only doing business with Iran but to share culture and knowledge.

Prof. Adam Sebyala, the academic professor and lecturer at Al-Mustafa Islamic College noted that Iran is a country situated in western Asia bordered by Iraq, Turkey, Syria and so many other countries.

He said that Iran is a nation that is alien in ethnicity was the Successor of the Persian Empire.

He informed the participants that Iranians don't have it in their culture to enslave other people as it was evidenced when the Persian empire took over authority.

Persian single handedly created Islamic civilization because for Arabs only memorized and couldn't pass information on the next generation.  They gathered whatever the Sunni Islam has in Islam.

The Iranians produced IMAM Khomeini; one of the three most famous men in history, last month.

Sunni Islam literature (six books of Hadith, etc) was recorded by the Persians. Baghdad become the center of world science with books written by Persians in the Hall of wisdom but the Mongolian destroyed that Islamic civilization.

Emperor Cyrus the great fits to be Zhulqarnain mentioned in the Quran, because Cyrus reached Babylon and freed the Jews from captivity.

 Persians are of Arian Ethnicity, are a proud that doesn't allow subjugation.

 In their history they never allowed to be conquered, they always fought back. But they only allowed the Arabs conquerors’ and didn't fight back.

They once occupied Egypt, and later remained in Iraq, but many times exchanged hands over Palestine with the Roman Empire.

Arabian Peninsula remained in Jahiliyyah because the Persian Civilization never reached there.

But while in Medina, Salman Al Fãrisi advised on the trench digging, and this saved Islam at Khandaq. So, Abu-Sufiyãn could say (This is a technique unknown to the Arabs) true to his word for Salman was a non-Arab.

Mrs. Zahra Afzali, CEO of Iran – Uganda Innovation and Technology Center from the scientific vice president of Iran said that they’re working with knowledge-based companies in construction, agriculture, food science, health sciences.

While speaking about agriculture, she noted that Iran has good fertilizers, seeds, agrochemical input, machinery with high level of production.

She invited guests to visit the innovation and technology hubs which is at Al-Mustafa Islamic College.

Mr. Abdollah Abbasi, the Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that Iran, with its civilization and history, is full of attractions and places to see. It seems that all the attractions of the world, from historical and cultural places to pristine and unique nature, are all gathered in this vast country. Iran has the best four-season climate in the world and is rich in natural mines. It also has a rich cultural heritage, part of which is registered as 19 World Heritage Sites in UNESCO, which is the fourth rank in Asia and the 12th rank in the world.

Undoubtedly, an inseparable part of every country is its culture and traditions. Iran also has a lot of cultural diversity due to its rich historical background.

Iran is geographically in a unique position between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea; It means that it is the largest lake in the world and has diversity and tourist attractions. But today I am going to provide a few explanations about medical tourism in Iran:

Iran is one of the advanced countries in the world in terms of medicine, it has a long history in the field of medicine, and there are many well-known doctors from Iran. In Iran, health tourism includes three sectors, each of which has attractions for tourists who choose Iran for their health trips, including: nature therapy tourism / wellness tourism and medical tourism.

Naturopathy tourism, as its name suggests, is a trip where a person is treated by natural healing resources and services under the supervision of a doctor. Some of the most important resources and medical services related to it are: hot springs, Salt Lake, herbal bath, medical massage, medical mud and sun.

This type of tourism, despite having natural phenomena and the wonderful nature of Iran, is highly regarded and has been placed in a special position. The growth of medicinal plants and the presence of Iran's four-season and wonderful weather have made Iran one of the hubs of naturopathy tourism in the world. The presence of hot water springs in different cities of Iran is effective for treating many diseases, including rheumatism, muscle and joint pain, migraine and sinusitis, and its clean climate and beautiful environment are also used to improve respiratory, rheumatology, skin and muscle diseases or to pass the time. It is very effective after surgery and illness.

It is not bad to know that currently, for the well-being of medical tourists, in addition to naturopathy resources, Iran has also considered comfort and accommodation facilities for them, so that tourists can treat their illness with peace of mind by renting accommodation before traveling.

Wellness tourism is mostly related to people who need to relax or have mental problems. In the therapeutic tourism trip, the tourist is looking for relaxation and release from the daily tensions of life and tends to stay away from any noise and crowd. This type of health tourism does not require a doctor or medical equipment, and the tourist tries to spend time in pristine and relaxing nature to polish his soul.

Mineral water springs, hotels, mountain, forest, beach or desert villas are the best areas for health tourists to spend their free time and are considered a special and appropriate choice for them. Fortunately, Iran has entered very strongly in this field and has many attractive and relaxing areas in different parts of the country. By traveling to Iran, tourists can choose the best place to access peace according to their taste and interest in wet or dry areas.

Medical tourism in Iran has many characteristics. It is because of these characteristics that many tourists put Iran in the priority of their medical tourism.

One of these features is the reduction of costs. In Iran, the costs of treatment and providing services to people are much lower compared to other countries. Most countries require high costs in providing medical services.

The next characteristic of skilled and experienced doctors is that Iran is in a high position in terms of medical science and experienced professional doctors, and this is a well-known and undeniable issue. As you know, the skill and experience of doctors in the field of medical tourism is very important and important, so this issue cannot be ignored.

Hydrotherapy: Mineral water springs are used to treat many diseases, including rheumatism, joint pains, and migraines. Many people travel to hot springs in different parts of the world to treat their illness and use them. Iran has many mineral water springs, and in this sense, it has a high absorption capacity in therapeutic tourism.

Salt therapy: Recently, salt therapy has been considered as one of the natural treatments for some diseases, which is welcomed by tourists all over the world. There are several salt mountains in Iran, that's why salt therapy has become one of the tourist poles in our country.

Mud therapy: Another important attraction of Iran in the medical tourism industry is mud therapy. The shores of Lake Urmia and the slopes of Mount Taftan are two examples of these attractions that have made Iran able to attract medical tourists in this field.

Many diseases are treated in medical tourism in Iran. But the ones that have been more prominent and noticed are: Infertility, dentistry, heart and eye surgery, cosmetic and plastic surgery, dialysis and cancer-related disease.

H.E. Mr. Majid Saffar, The Iranian Ambassador to Uganda noted that Iranology seminars unlock the potentials of human understanding of Iran's cultural diversity, history, health-care services, science and Technology infrastructure, agriculture, astronomy, innovation, global diplomacy among others aspects of life.

He called upon participants to utilize the experience of Iran in different sectors in paying way for cooperation.

The Ambassador noted that Uganda is well endowed with natural resources which gives room for agricultural production.

He noted that Iran is now exporting knowledge to other countries including European countries.

The ambassador responded to the questions from the audience during the question-answered session who asked different questions.