A solemn ceremony to hand over a collection of 100 books took place at the National Library of Belarus. The collection was provided by the Turkish Presidential Library and the Turkish Embassy in Belarus. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Türkiye Mustafa Ozcan noted that this event is another facet of relations between the countries.
"The Turkish Presidential Library was opened in the very center of Türkiye, in its heart, in the capital Ankara. It is located on the grounds of the Presidential Complex. Its special section features books sent by the National Library of Belarus", he said. “Thanks to these books, which were once given by the National Library of Belarus, Turkish citizens and guests of our capital have the opportunity to learn more about Belarus. In the same way, by presenting books to the National Library of Belarus, we want our Belarusian friends to get to know Türkiye better, learn more about its culture, art and literature,” Ambassador Mustafa Ozcan noted.
The number of presented books is symbolic. The year 2023 marked the 100th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Türkiye. “We wanted to hand over exactly 100 books as it is of great importance to us. We want to see this as a new beginning and we believe that many more books will be presented to the National Library of Belarus to enrich its collections so that all searchers can have access to the sources,” the ambassador said.
The books narrate about the cultural and artistic values, regional traditions, history, nature and ancient regions of Türkiye. The collection also includes works of Turkish literature, studies on the Turkish language, and dictionaries.
Vadim Gigin, Director General of the National Library of Belarus, hailed the significance of the event. “Belarus and Türkiye, the Belarusian and Turkish people have long been connected by friendly relations", he said. “Friendship of the peoples and long-term cooperation are based primarily on cultural similarity and dialogue of cultures, understanding and getting to know each other,” Vadim Gigin highlighted.
Ahead of the ceremony, the National Library of Belarus launched an exhibition of valuable Oriental (Turkish) manuscripts of the 16th-19th centuries from its collection.
Written by belta.by
