loader
MaskImg

News

Cultural, Social and Artistic News

The Minister of Culture discusses the joint projects with the delegation of the Arab World Institute and the Aliph Organization

breakLine
2021-08-30

Iraqi Palm Agency

 

Saturday, the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Hassan Nazim stressed the need to proceed with the establishment of joint projects between Baghdad and Paris through the relevant cultural institutions, calling on Paris to support Iraq's efforts to restore thousands of its antiquities in Europe.

Nazim said, while welcoming a large French delegation at the headquarters of the Antiquities and Heritage in Baghdad, that this is a happy morning for us to receive the director of the Arab World Institute, Jack Ling, who is one of the respected figures in world culture, and who works hard to support Iraqi and Arab culture. We thank you for visiting Baghdad, where we will be able to discuss ways to support the Iraqi culture presented by the Arab Institute, represented by a series of projects.

The delegation, which included members of Parliament and the French Senate, in addition to the new ambassador and a number of officials of French cultural organizations, toured the Iraqi Museum.

During the meeting, the minister added, "We will engage in a dialogue regarding the projects and our relationship with the Arab World Institute and the Aliph organization, as we look forward in the ministry to real cooperation and partnership with the institute and the Aliph organization, with which we have established real links and programs on the ground. Aliph has helped Iraq with real programs. Pointing To the ministry's desire to establish two projects in the short term, in addition to our desire to finance the participation of Iraqi intellectuals in the weekly events held by the Arab World Institute in Paris.

Nazim continued, during his review of the projects presented to the French delegation, "In the long term, we want to establish a project, which is a comprehensive exhibition of Iraqi civilizations, in the name of "Iraq the Valley of Civilizations." We believe that the agreement to establish these projects will make Iraq an active presence in the Arab World Institute’’. In addition to that he also  said: ‘’We thank the Arab World Institute, in addition to the French Library, the Louvre Museum and the Aliph Organization. We look forward to holding intensive training courses by the French side for manuscript preservation. In the manuscripts wing of the museum, there are more than 47 thousand manuscripts, the most recent of which is a thousand years old, and we need support on this matter immediately’’.

Regarding the depth of cultural relations between the two countries, he said, "We are proud of the French friendship that extends since the sixties of the last century. The currents of French philosophy influenced Iraqi culture . We read Jean Paul Sartre and Proust. The French philosophers attended in our minds. Also, the presence of President Macron was a source of happiness and pride, and we thank Paris for this support to Iraq these days.

The President of the Arab World Institute, Jack Ling, said, "We have brought with us wonderful French personalities from both houses - representatives and sheikhs - as well as leaders from the Aliph Organization and we also have with us the organization's vice president and assistant who work closely on the ground at the archaeological sites in Mosul, as well as the Officials for the National Institute of Archeology’’.

Ling added that "Iraq has an important and permanent presence in the heart of the institute, and I would like to point out that the French organizations have worked extensively to rehabilitate and restore Iraqi antiquities after their destruction by militants of the terrorist organization ISIS in the city of Mosul, and that we will complete this process," Showing that work is moving swiftly for rebuilding destroyed locations like Al-Nuri Mosque and the Clock Church in Old Mosul.

Furthermore head of the institute mentioned in a meeting that ‘’they are working on setting up an exhibition documenting the long history of thousands of years of the Jewish presence in Baghdad and Mosul, and displaying this archive in the exhibition will invite thousands of Iraqi Jews to return to their country or at least visit it,” adding, “We fully support Iraqi cultural projects, Iraq is a country that is very important from a cultural point of view’’.

The minister touched upon Iraq's recovery of thousands of artifacts from Washington, saying that "many of these artifacts, estimated at 17,000, were stolen from the National Museum after the year 2003, and some were taken out of random excavation, and there are some institutions that participated in these smuggling operations, unfortunately."

Nazim called on Paris to support Iraq's efforts to restore thousands of its remaining antiquities in Europe and the world, pointing out that Baghdad was able, through negotiations, to restore Iraqi antiquities in the United States from Hobby Lobby and Cornell University.

For his part, the head of the Antiquities and Heritage Authority, Laith Majid, said that large numbers of antiquities recovered from Washington were fake, "noting that the counterfeiting operations were carried out professionally, and this indicates a deliberate distortion of ancient Iraqi civilizations."

Majeed continued by saying that "it is necessary to dry up the sources of the antiquities buying and selling market, because the booming market will mean that there is a high supply and demand."

Alif's representative touched on the presentation of 30 projects implemented over a period of 3 years, indicating that these projects represent only a part of the organization's work in Iraq, with the full French support from President Manuel Macron, and are also one of Aliph organization's priorities to protect cultural heritage and diversity.

...........................

For Cultural, social and artistic news, poems, photos, videos and other arts. Please visit the Iraqi Nakheel website via the following link :-

www.iraqpalm.com

Or download the Nakheel app

For Android, click on the link below 

Download the application from here

for iPhones

Download the application from here

Or follow us on social media

Facebook @iraqpalm

Instagram: @iraqpalm