The Egyptian ambassador in Belgrade, Amr Aljowaily, gave the opening speech at ceremony of establishing an Egyptian book section in the National Library of Serbia, by donating 50 books published by the General Egyptian Book Organization on the topics of modern history of Egypt, especially the 1919 revolution, the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the contributions of the late Dean of Arabic literature, Taha Hussein, as a follow-up to participation of Egypt as a guest of honor at the Belgrade International Book Fair in 2019.
Aljowaily stated that the event also touched on cooperation with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, to activate the cooperation protocol signed between the two libraries in 2005 through the exchange of visits and holding of joint virtual or physical presence activities, in addition to cooperation with Egypt’s public libraries and exchange of experience in pioneering role of managing a chain of libraries to serve the public in various governorates.
The Director of the National Library of Serbia, Vladimir Pištalo, praised the initiative to enrich the library’s collection with valuable Egyptian books in a special section, praising the pioneering Egyptian cultural contribution, benefitting also the Universities of Belgrade and Novi Sad through support or establishment of a new department for the Arabic language. He welcomed the invitation from the embassy to participate in the next session of the Cairo International Book Fair, which will start on June 30th, to launch Arabic translations for a number of Serbian books within the framework of the growing mutual publishing experiences between Egypt and Serbia.
Aljowaily added that it was agreed that cooperation with the National Library of Serbia would include making use of its role as a cultural center to organize a series of activities to highlight the Egyptian culture, starting with an exhibition of photographs on the architectural creativity of Egyptian churches, features of Islamic art, and the development of jewelry and jewelry design since ancient Egypt. And the Egyptian schools of Arabic calligraphy coinciding with the holding of the Cairo International Book Fair to promote participation in it by Serbian publishers and cultural circles.