French Ambassador Eric Chevallier received the books from Canadian Ambassador Adrian Norfolk at a ceremony held at the Institute’s media library.
The donations demonstrate Canada's commitment to the Francophone and Francophile community in Qatar, the embassy said in a statement.
“This remarkable tradition started in 2014 at the very first celebrations of Francophonie in Qatar,” said Norfolk, citing that “this Canadian programme of donating books makes it possible to contribute to the radiance of the Francophonie all over the world.”
Grateful for Canada's contribution, Chevallier stressed that “we must shed the light on the fact that in Qatar there are more than 200,000 Francophones.”
“The Institute offers them the richest francophone library in the country.”
The Institute’s media library offers more than 5,000 books and magazines, children's books, comic books, numerous DVDs and access to a rich cultural library, as well as the large digital library of the French Institutes network worldwide.
In addition, the library has a wide selection of documentary and educational books essential to French learners, particularly for students of the Institute’s Language Centre where French and Arabic are offered for all ages and levels.
French Ambassador Eric Chevallier (left) receiving the books from Canadian Ambassador Adrian Norfolk (centre) as another official looks on.
The Canadian embassy in Doha has donated a series of books written by various Canadian authors to the French Institute of Qatar on the occasion of the recent ‘Week of Francophonie’ in the country.
