TEHRAN President Seyed Mohammad Khatami said here on Monday that Azarbaijan has since been a major hub of Iranian activity in the course of history has played an important role in promoting Iranian and Islamic cultures and civilizations.

Addressing a gathering of Majlis (Parliament) representatives from the northwestern Province of East Azarbaijan which included the province's governor general, the president said that Iranian history and the Islamic Revolution, as well as Islamic culture and civilization, are all indebted to Azarbaijan.

Praising the role played by Azarbaijan in the victory of the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, President Khatami termed the revolution as seed of modern democracy in the country.

The president further said that Azarbaijan, in addition to being a bastion of religious and cultural values, is a vanguard of values for a civic society.

Also, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday called on the Iranian youth to cling to the qualities of self-confidence and self-reliance and thereby guarantee a bright, prosperous and progressive future for the country with their distinctive identity.

Addressing a gathering held to honor young researchers and the country's intelligentsia, the president said the youth should neither be intimidated by the West nor overwhelmed by its achievements.

Highlighting the sensitive responsibilities that the youth shoulder and their outstanding place in society, the president said they should forge a chain of identity by becoming more familiar with the sources of their dignity -- their religion, culture and ties of allegiance.

Stressing that Iran's youth will never be turned into facsimiles of the West, the president said that imitating the West will not help the country in its race for development.

However, he stressed, self-confidence and self-reliance along with the art of innovation are prerequisites to the development of a nation and country.

The president, who is also head of the Supreme Cultural Council, pointed to the mutual assimilation of Islamic and Western thoughts and said that both Islamic and Western civilizations have shown that they can mutually benefit from each other's values and ends.

He said there are two groups that have emerged as a result of Western intimidation: Those who lose even their basic identity vis-a-vis the Western achievements and those who turn out weak and fanatic in the face of these achievements and are not able to comprehend the realities of the time.

The president acknowledged the legitimacy of the demands of the young for suitable ground to pursue scientific progress, for greater participation, and for freedom of expression in an appropriate educational and scientific environment.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the president said that the Islamic Revolution was not meant to be a revolution of force against force but was one of the most popular revolutions in the world which saw the need for the establishment of a new system based on Islamic principles.

Today, he added, Iran enjoys a democratic system that is compatible with its religion. But, he further remarked, weak points cannot be avoided and must be identified and removed in order to lead the country and its people toward a brighter future.

President Khatami said that having a young population in the country is a suitable opportunity for progress; however, he added if the youth do not find their place in society, then they could be a threatening factor to the future of the country.

He stressed that Iran with its promising and suitable geopolitical situation and rich natural resources and given the presence of brilliant youth can have a bright future.

Prior to his speech, the president asked the intelligent youth present in the ceremony to take the floor and express their ideas freely.

The first one who was a young man criticized the state of affairs in two ministries of education and science, research and technology and said the red tapes in those ministries is the main cause for brain drain.

Another Iranian intelligent man, who was studying computer sciences in the U.S., said that brain drain is not the main cause of the problems facing the country, rather it is the effect of those problems.

The Minister of Education Hossein Mozaffar presented a report on the situation of talented youth in the country and said 221 Iranian students have so far participated in international competitions in mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer sciences and biology, winning 51 gold medals, 81 silver and 54 bronze medals.