Filipino books and handicrafts now at Turkey's Presidential Library

The Heads of Missions and representatives of the ASEAN Ankara Committee with their spouses and Mr. Ayhan Tuglu, Head of the Presidential Library with Mr. Mahmut Kazan, General Director, Administrative Services of the Office of the Presidency at the Cihannuma Hall following the book donation ceremony.

The National Library of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey (Presidential Library), inaugurated this February 2020, received a donation of over a hundred books from South-east Asian countries including the Philippines. The donation was given by the ASEAN Ankara Committee (AAC) which is headed by the Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Raul S. Hernandez. Aside from books, handicrafts and other display items were also donated.

The books donated were on political, economic, and socio-cultural topics of South-east Asian countries. Six ambassadors (Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) and two representatives (Cambodia and Malaysia) were present in the program. The donated books include a copy of Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo.

Mr. Mahmut Kazan, General Director, Administrative Services of the Office of the Presidency, and Mr. Ayhan Tuğlu, Head of the Presidential Library, received the donations. 

The ASEAN books will be included in the library's Cihannuma Hall, which contains an impressive collection of over 200,000 books. It has an area of 3,500 square meters and a seating capacity for 224 people. 

According to Ambassador Hernandez, the books donated by the AAC "will help raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of ASEAN and its member states in Turkey and provide access to students and researchers who wish to learn and know more about the region." The partnership will also help promote cooperation between the ASEAN and Turkey in education, culture and arts.

Mr. Tuğlu also hopes that through this, young people in Turkey would learn more about the ASEAN and its member countries. 

The Presidential Library in Turkey was envisioned by the President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to be the best and most comprehensive library in their country. The library houses over 4 million books in 150 languages, and a vast collection of eBooks and online resources.

Source:
Turkey’s Largest Library Now Houses Books and Handicrafts from the Philippines and other ASEAN Countries. (28 October 2020). Retrieved from https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/news-from-our-foreign-service-postsupdate/28052-turkey-s-largest-library-now-houses-books-and-handicrafts-from-the-philippines-and-other-asean-countries