Qatar University (QU) Library has received a donation of more than 100 books from the Japanese embassy in Qatar as part of the mission’s ongoing relationship with the organisation. 

Japanese ambassador Shingo Tsuda presented QU associate V-P for Faculty Affairs Dr Khalid al-Ali with the books, which cover various areas of Japanese culture and include contemporary novels, dictionaries and children’s books.

Present on the occasion were library director Dr Imad Bachir, College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) dean Dr Eiman Mustafawi, College of Sharia & Islamic Studies dean Dr A Hakeem Yousuf A Alkhelaifi, embassy first secretary Tomoko Watanabe, cultural attaché Anzwa Munehira, staff and students, including those from QU’s Japan Club.

This is the eighth year of the embassy’s donation to the library, which hosts a Japanese Corner among its collections. This year’s donation is also
in line with an initiative between CAS and Japanese
company Marubeni, which includes lectures to increase students’ awareness of Japanese culture, language, history and heritage.

“These books reflect the generosity of the Japanese embassy in Qatar and serve to add intellectual and cultural value to QU Library. This also highlights the strong relationship between QU and the Japanese embassy, and the mutual respect between Qatar and Japan and their respective communities,” said Dr al-Ali.

The ambassador noted that the first Japanese book donation to QU was in 1989. “Ever since, Qatar and Japan have notably developed and sustained distinctive educational and cultural relations,” he said, extending an invitation to the assembled guests to visit the embassy’s booth and participate in their activities at the 25th Doha International Book Fair, which will be held next January.

In his remarks, Dr Bachir said the event was within the framework of the library’s mission to establish strong relationships with various sectors in Qatar to advance its intellectual properties.

Thanking the envoy, he said: “The embassy’s donation, like those before, undoubtedly enriches the library’s collection and supports QU and the wider community in enhancing their knowledge and furthering understanding of Japanese culture and traditions.  It also contributes to the library’s vision of becoming a leading university library in the region.”

To date, the embassy has donated over 900 books to the library, which adds to its ever-growing portfolio comprising over 350,000 print volumes mainly in English and Arabic, about 110,000 ebooks and more than 120 databases covering a diverse range of subjects.

 

 

 

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