Azerbaijan National Library holds round table

The Azerbaijan National Library has hosted a round table within the Belarusian Cultural Days.

Director of the Azerbaijan National Library, Karim Tahirov, greeted the Belarusian guests and expressed hope for further strengthening of ties between the two countries in the field of culture, Azernews reports.

The round table was moderated by Advisor to the Azerbaijan Culture Minister Jahangir Selimkhanov, who stressed the need to build cultural ties between the two countries in a new format.

The General Director of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Hall, Alexander Nikita, noted the presence of similarities between Belarus and Azerbaijan.

"We must move to the practical level of our cooperation. My colleague, director of the Azerbaijan Philharmonic Hall, Murad Adigozalzade, and I have made several developments regarding future projects. It would also be very prestigious for us to perform in different parts of Azerbaijan. I would like to note that there are many strong voices and talented artists in Azerbaijan. We witnessed all this at the gala concert held yesterday, where ethnic Azerbaijanis representing Belarus performed," said the director of the Belarusian Philharmonic Hall.

Chairman of the Azerbaijan Artists Union, People's Artist Farhad Khalilov, emphasised that during the Belarusian Cultural Days, it is impossible to demonstrate the entire range of creativity of very talented artists of Belarus.

"The Belarusian Cultural Days in Azerbaijan are a new stage in bilateral relations. We agreed with our Belarusian colleagues to expand cooperation in the field of fine arts. We plan to hold exhibitions of our artists in 2025, both in Belarus and Azerbaijan," he concluded.

Director of the Belarus National Art Museum, Anna Kononova, spoke about the close cooperation that has been ongoing for several years between the cultural institutions of the two countries. She expressed confidence that these ties will develop in the future.

"In 2025, the Days of Azerbaijani Culture will take place in Belarus, where we will gladly display unique exhibits from the collection of the Azerbaijan National Art Museum as well as art pieces by contemporary artists," said Anna Kononova.

Director of the Azerbaijan National Art Museum, Shirin Malikova, spoke about the exhibition of Belarusian artists in Baku.

Noting that it will be very interesting for the Azerbaijani audience to discover new types of fine art, the director of the museum added that inter-museum contacts are being established between institutions of the two countries and specialists are being exchanged.

General Director of the Republican Unitary Enterprise National Film Studio Belarusfilm, Alexey Yuri, invited Azerbaijani film studios to Belarus.

"I propose to hold Azerbaijan Cinema Days in Belarus. During meetings with Azerbaijani colleagues, we worked out a framework agreement, which, I hope, will be signed at the Azerbaijan Cinema Days in Belarus. We could also make a documentary in the future about Azerbaijanis living in Belarus, and you, in turn, about Belarusians living in Azerbaijan," said the general director.

During the round table, various proposals were made to expand cultural cooperation between the two countries.