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On January 28, Besart Kadia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Albania to Azerbaijan, and Dr. Dorian Koçi, a diplomat at the Embassy of the Republic of Albania, visited the National Library. The guests were received by Professor Karim Tahirov, Director of the National Library of Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the guests were provided with information about the National Library. It was noted that with a collection of nearly 5 million books, the National Library conducts book exchanges with national libraries in 90 countries and has signed memoranda of cooperation with the national libraries of 54 countries.

Professor Karim Tahirov gave detailed information about the activities and projects of the National Library and highlighted that a memorandum of cooperation between the Azerbaijan National Library and the National Library of Albania was signed in 2022.

The director emphasized that the ambassador’s visit would help determine the future prospects of cooperation between the two countries’ national libraries. He specifically noted that in 2025, the Azerbaijan Literature section was opened at the National Library of Albania, and that a similar section had been established at the Azerbaijan National Library two years ago. During a visit to Tirana last year, he also discussed the availability of publications and manuscripts related to Azerbaijan in the collections of the Albanian National Library. Professor Tahirov stressed that the libraries had reached an agreement on joint research and digitization of these materials, and that materials about Albania in the Azerbaijan National Library should also be studied, digitized, and made more widely accessible.

Ambassador Besart Kadia expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and stated that he would support enhancing cooperation between the National Libraries of Albania and Azerbaijan as well as expanding international book exchanges. He also emphasized his readiness to collaborate with the Azerbaijan National Library and highlighted the importance of presenting books by Albanian writers and poets, published by the embassy in Turkish and Azerbaijani, at the library.

The meeting also included discussions on exchange of experience between library specialists, preservation, digitization, and scientific use of books and manuscripts held in both countries’ libraries.

Professor Karim Tahirov presented the guests with the books “Salam Azerbaijan”, “Azerbaijan National Library” photo album, and “Tukenmez Khazine”.

The guests then toured the Azerbaijan National Library and expressed their admiration for the institution.

The visit concluded with a commemorative photograph.