Washington: US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton on Saturday greeted people celebrating Nowruz
festival.
"For Iranians, Afghans, Kurds, Azeris, and people
across Central Asia, Nowruz marks the beginning of a new year
full of promise and possibility. Families and friends will
gather to rekindle old ties and make plans for the future,"
Clinton said.
Noting the spring equinox is a time of reflection and
renewal across cultures and continents ? signifying the hope
of rebirth, health, and prosperity, she said: "This is an
opportunity to remember how much we have in common -- the
aspirations we all share for a peaceful and prosperous future
and to reaffirm the human rights and fundamental freedoms
that are our universal birthright."
"As the Iranian poet Simin Behbahani writes, 'we are
all parts of the same body, similar in essence.' On this
Nowruz, we honor those common bonds," she said.
"As we look to the year ahead, let us redouble our
efforts to promote mutual understanding and respect. Working
together, we can meet the common challenges and seize the
shared opportunities of this new year and this still new
century," Clinton said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 21, 2010, 00:20