New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) The National Archives of India is collaborating with the State Archives of Turkey and National Records and Archives Authority (NRAA) of Oman to access ancient documents, and work towards the digitisation of records, said an official statement Friday.
NAI director general V. Srinivas had met Ugur Unal, director general, State Archives of Turkey in Istanbul Jan 2, and NRAA’s chairman Hamad Mohd Al Dhawiani in Muscat in December 2013.
“The protocol allows NAI to access ancient Ottoman archives records amounting to 12 million documents with considerable historical importance in the year 2014,” said the statement.
“India and Turkey have agreed on the following roadmap for future collaboration: Identifying archival material of mutual interest; exhibition of Ottoman archival records in NAI; and a week long exhibition of the state archives of Turkey at a time of mutual convenience in 2014,” it added.
The protocol for collaboration in archives was signed between India and Turkey during the visit of President President Mukherjee to Ankara in October 2013.
In a bilateral meeting between Oman officials, some areas of collaboration were identified.
“NRAA will hold an exhibition at New Delhi on Omani and Ottoman archival records along with a seminar of Arabic scholars from both sides participating in the deliberations,” said the statement.
“Technical assistance program for development of training programs would be developed between the two institutions(NIA and NRAA); they would seek to explore collaboration in digitisation of archival records, and they have agreed to work on exchange of archivists to develop archival records in both countries,” it added.