Mr. Iftikhar Hussain Arif, ECO Cultural Institute President called Iranian National Library higher than the British And American counterparts in terms of building, protection and maintenance and composition of users at the meeting with Mr. Eshagh Salahi, Head of Iran National Library.
Mr. Salahi for his part said: I am very pleased that a cultural figure and poet assumed as ECO Cultural Institute president and I hope this appointment will lead to further expansion of cooperation between ECO countries which share common culture, history and religion.
He then briefed the ECI President on the activities and features of the National Library and Archives Organization .
During the meeting, Mr. Iftikhar Hussain Arif, noted: unfortunately there has been little effort to preserve manuscripts in Pakistan and we request our Iranian brothers to help us in this area .
Mr. Salahi also welcomed the idea and proposed scanning of all historical documents and manuscripts available in the Islamic Republicof Pakistan by the Iranian National Library and Archives.
Head of the National Library of Iran also stressed the importance of resources in the region and asked for the assistance of ECI for preservation of the manuscripts.
Mr. Iftikhar Hussain Arif emphasized the preservation of ECO common cultural heritage and expressed hope for realization of the matter through an MoU .