Iran, Russia libraries ink cooperation MoU

Tehran, April 14, IRNA

Heads of the Russian and Iranian national libraries signed a
cooperation agreement here on Monday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, head of Iran's National Library and
Documents Organization, Ali Akbar Ash'ari said that if political
relations are based on cultural ties, they will be more lasting.

Cultural dialogues constitute the best type of communications between
nations, he said, noting that relations between the libraries are a
clear manifestation of dialogue among civilizations.

Commenting on the agreement, he said that the first part of the accord
deals with visits to libraries and development of an understanding
about their resources.

"Currently, we have active ties with 18 Asian and 13 European and
three African countries as well as the US Library fo the Congress,"
Ash'ari said.

He announced that agreements with four other countries are to be
signed in the coming months in the hope that they will lead to the
development of bilateral ties.

Head of Russian State Federation Library, Victor Fedorov, for his
part, said that cooperation between the two countries' libraries is
important since they can help library users become more familiar with
each other's history and culture.

He also said that the library has a center of Iranian studies and
Persian language containing related books published in Russia.

The Russian State Federation Library is based in Moscow and is one of
world's biggest libraries.

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