Rouhani to begin maiden visit to India from Hyderabad

New Delhi:  President Hassan Rouhani will commence his three-day maiden visit to India from Southern Indian city of Hyderabad where he will land on Thursday evening.

President Hassan Rouhani will land in Hyderabad first and not the national capital of New Delhi. "He will land in Hyderabad on Thursday evening. After completing his schedule here, he will leave for New Delhi on Saturday," said a diplomatic source. 

The President of Iran will visit the Grand Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad where he will offer Friday prayers and later address the weekly congregation. It will be for the first time in 325 years that a head of state will address the Friday congregation at the historic mosque.

Dr Rouhani is the second Iranian President to visit Hyderabad but is the first Iranian head of state to be accorded the rare distinction of addressing the Jumu'ah congregation.

Makkah Masjid construction was completed in 1694 CE by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, 78 years after the foundation stone was laid by Qutub Shahi ruler Sultan Mohammad in 1616 CE.

During the period of Qutub Shahi rulers Sultan Mohammad Qutub Shah VI, and his son Abdullah Qutub Shah VII, the Friday sermons in all mosques in Hyderabad and in the Qutub Shahi kingdom specifically mentioned the name of the ruler (Shah) of Iran.

While the details are unclear as to why Dr Rouhani chose to land in Hyderabad first, sources maintain that it is because Hyderabad has a deep Iranian influence on every sphere of life. Right from the cuisine to unique styles of architecture, culture and traditions to language and dialect, and administration to sociological conditions - all bear the semblance of the medieval Iran on the Qutub Shahi Hyderabad. 

The Qutub Shahi dynasty may have been disbanded three centuries ago, but sociocultural and food traditions the founders of Hyderabad had left behind continue to influence the lives of people in modern day Hyderabad in one way or the other.

Previously in mid-1950s and 1970s, the Shah of Iran visited Hyderabad twice. 

Dr. Rouhani visited the city in 1994 when he was the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and National Security Adviser.

During his visit to Hyderabad, Dr Rouhani will be meeting Muslim scholars, visit centres of culture and religion, and interact with Iranian expatriate community which is integral part of Hyderabad's business and culture.

The President will later fly to capital New Delhi where Dr Rouhani will be accorded a ceremonial reception on February 17.

He will have meetings with the President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minster Modi, according to a release by the Ministry of External Affairs here on Wednesday. 

Citing the Iran president's deputy chief of staff for communications and information Parviz Esmaeili, Irna said following the delegation-level talks on Saturday, both sides will sign a number of agreements.

Business leaders of both sectors are also scheduled to hold a joint meeting to review cooperation opportunities and capacities, according to Esmaeili.

Rouhani's visit comes after Modi's visit to Tehran in 2016 during which a trilateral agreement on transit and transport was signed between India, Iran and Afghanistan.

India committed $85 million in investment for the development of the Shahid Beheshti Port in Iran's southeastern city of Chabahar.

The first phase of the port was inaugurated by President Rouhani in December last year, a little over a month after the first consignment of wheat from India to Afghanistan was sent via this facility.

The port opens a new strategic transit route between Iran, India, Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations bypassing Pakistan.

India-Iran bilateral trade stood at $12.89 billion in 2016-17, according to figures provided by the External Affairs Ministry.