TEHRAN: ECO member states displayed their carpet arts including Pakistani carpet designs during Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) regional exhibition of carpet arts held in Tehran.

Besides the carpet exhibition, a parallel workshop on the art of old carpet restoration was also inaugurated on the occasion, said a press release received here from Tehran on Saturday.

While inaugurating the carpet exhibition, President of Economic Cultural Institute (ECI) Tehran, Saad S Khan emphasized that carpet is the most ancient of regional art that is common across all the regional countries.

Meanwhile, professors and scholars speaking on the occasion talked about the common heritage of carpet designs in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other regional countries that are members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) based in Tehran. Turkmenistan even holds Carpet Day each year as a national state holiday, Dr. Saad said.

The scholars highlighted the cultural significance of carpets as a cultural symbol, carpets’ role in hospitality in traditional homes and the importance of carpet weaving as a form of livelihood. Experts explained various techniques for restoring old, worn out or torn carpets, up to a century old, which can be restored to appear as good as new.