TEHRAN - The Director of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO), Hojjatoleslam Mahmoud Mohammadi Araqi, said that the most important artistic and cultural event of the year, the International Congress on Islamic Arts and Crafts, will begin with a procession by the participants including foreign experts beginning at Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan on October 4. The motto of the congress is "Revival and Preservation of the Islamic Cultural Heritage."

The OIC Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) is sponsoring the congress, he added.

Seventy of the 140 articles submitted to the secretariat of the congress will be presented during the congress, Araqi stated.

Some 800 experts and artists from 33 countries of the Islamic world are attending the congress, which is being held in Iran for the first time.

Moreover, an exhibition of artistic works and handicrafts of the Islamic world is to be held at Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

The congress will continue until October 9.