Iran-Malaysia-Meet
IRI President's Cultural Advisor and Head of Iran National Library and Documents Organization Ali Akbar Ash'ari here Wednesday met and conferred with head of Malaysia's State Archives Organization.

Ash'ari in his meeting with Sadeq Jamil on the sidelines of the 16th Congress of the International Council for Preservation of Documents expressed delight over the daily expansion of cultural cooperation between the two Muslim and friend countries, Iran and Malaysia.

Pointing out tendency of the Iran National Library Organization to expand ties with Malaysia's State Archives Organization, Ash'ari noted, "This organization has prior to the ongoing congress forwarded the draft of an MOU to the Malaysian Archives Organization." He said that offering training courses in two countries for one another's librarians and document keeper experts and exchange of documents on the two countries records of cooperation are among Iran's fields of interest for cooperation.

Referring to merging Iran National Library and the Iranian Documents Organization and putting them both under a singe management, that has so far managed to establish the National Digital Information Center, he said, "Implementing that huge scale project is proof that merging the two organs has been a right decision."
He added, "Thanks to implementing that national project the entire contextual wealth of Iran National Library and the National Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are presented jointly on the Internet website of this newly established organization, and they are naturally at the disposal of the enthusiasts worldwide."
Head of the Malaysian State Archives and Secretary of the 16th Congress of the International Council for Preservation of Documents, too, expressed satisfaction over the daily increasing ties and cooperation between the two countries, reiterating, "Even without signing an MOU, the level of cooperation between the two countries' archives organizations has thus far been quite satisfactory." Sadeq Jamil pointed out that so far three groups of Iranian archives experts have passed advanced courses in their field in Malaysia, adding, "My affiliated organ is meanwhile ready for making easier the conditions for other types of academic cooperation with Iran."
He said that one of the duties of the Malaysian State Archives is collecting the entire documents related to this country around the globe, adding, "We are therefore interested in cooperation with Iran in this respect."
Regarding Iran's proposed MOU, too, he said, "After the regular official procedure by the concerned Malaysian Government organs, the Malaysian State Archives would be willing to sign that MOU." The Islamic Republic of Iran's Ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, Mahdi Khandaqabadi who was present at the meeting, said, "In accordance with recorded documents, the Iranians and the Malaysians had long before establishment of ties between their governments had close ties with one another."
The 16th Congress of the International Council for Preservation of Documents is being held from July 22 to 27 in Malaysian capital city, Kuala Lumpur, hosting 330 representatives from 138 countries, including two delegations from Iran, the second one of which is from the Martyrs and War Disables Foundation.