TEHRAN – In a significant move to bolster cultural ties, Iran is set to introduce a comprehensive anthology of its poetic heritage to the Kyrgyz people.

The National Union of Writers of the Kyrgyz Republic will publish a collection featuring 100 works from 100 of Iran’s most distinguished poets, translated into the Kyrgyz language, IRNA reported.

The project was finalized during a recent meeting between Abdolreza Seifi, the Cultural Attaché of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kyrgyzstan, and Kanybek Imanaliev, the head of the National Union of Writers of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The two delegations convened at the Union’s headquarters to review past collaborations and strategize on future literary exchanges between the writers of both nations.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Iranian Cultural Attaché will provide the original Persian texts, while the Union will oversee the translation, printing, and distribution of the Kyrgyz-language edition.

The two parties are also planning to leverage the global platform provided by the World Nomad Games 2026, which will be hosted in Kyrgyzstan.

They have proposed inviting a celebrated Iranian poet to participate in the Games' cultural programming. The poet would not only recite their work for international dignitaries but also engage with local academia by holding readings and lectures at Kyrgyz universities, offering a direct window into contemporary Iranian literature.

The National Union of Writers of the Kyrgyz Republic is a creative organization uniting professional writers of Kyrgyzstan.

In 1927, the youth literary circle “Kyzyl Uchkun” (Red Spark) was created at the Kyrgyz Central Pedagogical College. In 1930, on its basis, the Kyrgyz Association of Proletarian Writers was created.

In 1932, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) issued a resolution “On the Restructuring of Literary and Artistic Organizations,” which resulted in the association being transformed into the Union of Writers of Kyrgyzstan. In 1934, the first congress of the Writers' Union was held. and the Kyrgyz branch of the Literary Fund of the USSR was formed.

In 1966, the Osh branch of the Writers' Union was created.

The highest body that elects the board, secretariat and chairman is the congress. During the Soviet era, congresses were held in 1934, 1954, 1959, 1966, 1971, 1976, and 1981.

As of 1982, the union included sections on prose, poetry, drama, criticism, children's literature, literary translation, essays and journalism, and Russian writers, as well as a commission on military-patriotic literature.

As of 1982, the union included 168 writers (153 of them from Bishkek); currently, the union has about 600 writers.

SS/SAB