An Iranian Quranic official said the country will host the first international Quran competition for the visually-impaired later this year.

Davoud Takfallah, head of the planning committee of the Headquarters for Coordinating the Country’s Quran Competitions, told IQNA that it will be organized on the sidelines of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s 33rd International Holy Quran Contest.

Iran’s International Holy Quran Contest is annually held in the country with the participation of Quran reciters and memorizers from around the world.

Takfallah said 30 to 40 countries are expected to send their representatives to the competition for the visually-impaired.

According to the official, the first edition will only feature the category of Quran memorization but more categories could be included in the future editions.

If we come to the conclusion that there is enough capacity in the field of recitation and enough number of qualified visually-impaired Qaris, the competition will also include a recitation category as of next year, he went on to say.