DUSHANBE, June 7, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Iranian news agency, Fars News Agency (FNA), has quoted Iranian diplomat as saying that Tajikistan asks the Islamic Republic of Iran to assist with switching back to the Arabic script.

An article entitled “Tajik Minister of Education: We Want Iran to Assist Us with Publication of Textbooks” that was posted on FNA’s website on June 6 quoted Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Ali-Asghar Sherdoust, as saying that Tajikistan has adopted the law, under which it will switch to the Arabic script within the next ten years and “the Tajik Government considers that Iran is the only country that could help.”

He reportedly said this here on June 5 during a meeting with Tajik Minister of Education, Nouriddin Saidov.

Meanwhile, an official source at the Ministry of Education (MoE) says the major topic of the meeting of Nouriddin Saidov with Iranian Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Ali-Asghar Yazdani, and Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Ali-Asghar Sherdoust, was further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran in the field of education, including assistance with printing fiction and the “Alifboi Niyogon” (Persian Alphabet) textbook for Tajik schools.

Tajik lawyers assert that such a law has not been adopted in Tajikistan.